The Best Android Phones

After testing every flagship Android phone released in the past two years, we think the Samsung Galaxy S6 is the best new phone for most people. It looks and feels fantastic, its 16MP camera and 1440p Super AMOLED screen are the best on any Android phone, and it’s packed with useful features.

July 20, 2015:
We've tested the LG G4. It's a great 5.5-inch phone with a crisp screen and great camera. If you can't live without a removable battery or a microSD card slot, but don't want a giant phone with a stylus (like the Galaxy Note 4), it's a great choice. The G4 lacks some of the build polish and fancy features (like a fingerprint reader) that make the Samsung Galaxy S6 so good, but if you don't mind the tradeoffs, the G4 is worth it. See the Competition section for more detail.

July 17, 2015:
The LG G4 and Asus Zenfone 2 are now available. We will post our findings on each as soon as we can.

July 16, 2015: CNET’s long term testing notes support our conclusions on the Galaxy S6’s battery life. We’ve linked to their review below.

June 4, 2015:
The Samsung Galaxy S6 is the best new Android phone for most people, based on our hands-on testing and overwhelming review consensus. We like the Galaxy Note 4 for phablets and the Moto G for cheap Android phones. We will also test the LG G4 and Asus Zenfone 2 and update this guide again once we've done so.

April 15, 2015:
We're still updating our guide, but based on our hands-on testing and critical consensus, the Samsung Galaxy S6 is the best new phone for most people, replacing the S5 in our list. We still like the Moto X (2014), Note 4, and Nexus 6, and the Moto G is still the best cheap phone. The Galaxy S6 goes on sale on April 10. We've also removed the Nexus 5 from our list because it's been discontinued by Google and the Moto G is a better cheap phone for most people.

February 25, 2015: Early reviews for the LG G Flex 2 are out and they're mostly positive, but given that Samsung and HTC are announcing their next flagships before the G Flex 2 is available, it's better to wait before buying.

January 6, 2015:
At CES 2015, LG announced the G Flex 2, a phone that's smaller and has a more subtle curve than the first-generation G Flex. It will run the latest 64-bit octocore processor and should have all the specs to rival other 2015 smartphones. It remains to be seen whether a curved phone is necessary or useful at all, but those who have gone hands-on at CES are impressed.
Asus announced that some of their new Zenfones are actually coming to the US, which would be a first. The Zenfone 2 will start at just $200 unsubsidized and come with a 5.5-inch 1080p screen, 1.8GHz quadcore Intel processor, and 4GB of RAM. It could be great, or it could be skippable, and we'll update this piece when we've had time to go hands-on with it.

December 9, 2014:
Updated with our thoughts on the Sony Xperia Z3. It's not one of our main picks, but you should consider it if you're a T-Mobile customer. It has an amazing battery life, a 20MP camera, a mostly stock version of Android, and is water-resistant.

The Galaxy S6’s fingerprint reader is the best you can get outside of Apple’s TouchID, the phone supports wireless charging, and it includes an IR blaster, NFC chip, and a new way of paying with your phone on normal credit card readers. It’s all metal and glass, and it’s the best phone Samsung’s ever made. The S6 is not perfect: the interface still has a few rough edges. But many of the extraneous features have been removed (or hidden). As long as you don’t need a removable battery or microSD slot, it’s the phone to get.

That said, when it comes to Android phones, there are many great options to choose from. If you want a big phablet for getting work done, you should get the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. It has a sharp 5.7-inch screen, good specs, fantastic battery life, great cameras that almost match those on the S6, cool multitasking features, and a stylus for sketching and note-taking.

The Galaxy Note 4 is large, but it's the best phablet for getting work done. Its size lets you benefit from Samsung's multitasking features like split-screen apps, and it includes a precise stylus. It also has a removable battery and a microSD card slot, which its smaller sibling lacks.

This phone is big and you’ll be dealing with Samsung’s older interface, which has more bloat than the Galaxy S6, even after an update to Android 5.0 Lollipop. Still, it’s the best phablet for getting work done because the software takes advantage of the huge screen. (Most other phablets are just big phones—they lack software features that take advantage of the larger size.) The Note 4 also has a removable battery and microSD card slot, which you won’t find on the S6. If you just want a big phone with fast and clean Android updates and don’t need a stylus, consider the Nexus 6 instead.

The Moto G is the cheapest decent Android phone you can get. At under $200, it’s the phone to get when you can’t justify spending more than $500 on a phone or you’re not eligible for a carrier subsidy. Unlike most of the many, many cheap Android phones out there, the Moto G is decent—you might even call it nice.

The Moto G is the best Android phone you can get for $200 without a carrier contract. It has a good screen, fast-enough performance, and a crap-free interface. You won't get the same speed as a flagship phone, but it's a third of the price.

We recommend the first-generation Universal 4G LTE model with a 4.5-inch screen, a quad-core processor, and 1 GB of RAM. It can’t compete with the likes of the Galaxy S6 on paper, but its performance is surprisingly good. The second-gen Moto G is very similar to the newer model, but there’s not yet a North American LTE version. Both have bad cameras, limited storage, and few fancy features, but they’re great cheap phones, and both run Android 5.0 Lollipop with few alterations.

Table of contents

Why should you listen to us?

In the last five years, I’ve written more than one million words professionally about Android on sites like ExtremeTech, Android Police, and Tested. I’ve also lived with many different Android phones as my “daily drivers” during that time. I know my way around Android.

This guide draws heavily on the reviews posted throughout the internet but also on what the Wirecutter editors and I have observed about these phones while testing them over the last several years. We collaborate to come up with the best recommendations (as well as alternatives for a variety of use cases).

If you’re happy with your old phone, don’t get a new one yet. The phones that are out when you are ready will be better than what’s available today. Unless you’re a power user or a serial early adopter, you probably don’t need an upgrade if you bought a phone in 2014 or later. The LG G3, Moto X (2014), Samsung Galaxy S5, and HTC One M8 are all still great.

But if you use your phone constantly throughout the day and your old one isn’t serving you well anymore, you should get a new one. If you use your phone constantly, it’s worth the cost, even if your phone is only a year old.

You should also consider an upgrade if your current phone is a couple of years old (or older) and and isn’t receiving software updates anymore. (First try a factory reset, though.) Without updates, your phone will only get less secure and capable over time, as apps begin requiring features your OS doesn’t support. For example, if you plan to use Android Auto in the next year or two, you need to be on a phone with Android 5.0 or later. Most Android phones are stuck on 4.4 (KitKat) or earlier, never to see another official update.

Unless you feel comfortable rooting your phone and installing custom ROMs, your experience on that phone is going to go downhill. Custom ROMs can extend the life of an old phone if you can’t afford to upgrade, but even the best ROMs are missing the sort of deeply integrated features you can get only from the phone’s manufacturer—for example, proprietary camera-image processing and advanced power control. You also need to know what you’re doing when flashing ROMs, as it’s possible to render your phone inoperable. Still, something like CyanogenMod can make an old phone feel new again.

On the other hand, if your biggest complaint is that your phone’s battery life sucks, consider replacing the battery before replacing the phone. Most recent phones use sealed-in batteries, but you can usually get the battery replaced by the manufacturer or an authorized third party. It’s a hassle, but slightly less than replacing the phone, and it’s a lot cheaper.

If you can’t upgrade your battery and can’t recharge throughout the day, buying a new phone may be the best option. All of our recommended models should get you to the end of the day with some charge left over, and almost every flagship Android phone now has a quick-charge function that can give you hours of use from a 15-minute charge.

When it is time to get a new phone, we recommend getting the best, newest phone you can afford. You can get a top-of-the-line phone on contract for about $200, rather than the off-contract price of $500 to $700. You’re almost always still paying full price, but on a two-year contract you pay a down payment and the rest of the cost is spread out over the length of your contract.

It can be tempting to get whatever phone your carrier offers for free with a two-year contract, but those phones usually have some combination of bad UI, outdated software, bad specs, and poor build quality.

It can be tempting to get whatever phone your carrier offers for free with a two-year contract, but those phones usually have some combination of bad UI, outdated software, bad specs, and poor build quality. At best, free phones are older models; at worst, you’ll feel the quality difference every day for the two years of your contract. You’re almost always better off paying a little bit more up front to get a phone that will last the length of your contract. A phone that’s one year old when you buy it will be three years old at the end of your contract, so it’ll probably be slow, and long past its last software update.

If your carrier doesn’t offer subsidized phones with its contracts or you are on a plan that charges separate fees for service and equipment, you can buy a great phone outright for $500 to $700. If that’s not feasible, don’t worry—some great Android phones are available off-contract for $300 to $400, and even less if you’re willing to make a few sacrifices. If you can’t afford to spend $200 up front on a new phone, consider one of last year’s best phones before accepting whatever your carrier offers.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 is the best new smartphone for most people looking for an Android. It has the best camera and the best screen, it’s full of useful features and, for once, it’s not made of plastic. It’s the first truly exciting Samsung phone in a long, long time. It has a non-removable battery and no microSD card slot, and there are phones with larger screens, if those things are important to you. But for most people, the S6 is the best phone so far. It’s on all four major US carriers and starts at $200 on contract for the 32GB model or $650-700 off contract.

The Galaxy S6 has metal sides and a glass back and feels nicer than any phone Samsung has ever made. It’s even better than HTC’s aluminum unibody design. Frankly, it looks and feels a lot like an iPhone 6. The Verge’s Dieter Bohn says, “The Galaxy S6 looks great and feels even better.” CNET notes, “the S6 lives worlds apart from the plastic construction of five generations of Galaxy flagships.”

The Galaxy S6 has the best hardware of any phone available right now.

The Galaxy S6 has the best hardware of any phone available right now. It has a 5.1-inch, 1440p Super AMOLED screen, 3 GB of RAM, 32/64/128GB storage options, a 16MP camera, and a fast Exynos 7420 octa-core processor. There’s also 802.11ac WiFi, NFC, an IR blaster, and (finally) built-in wireless charging. The S6 is the only phone that supports both Qi and PMA wireless charging, so if you see a charging mat, you’ll be able to use it. Most of this year’s phones have lower-resolution screens, less RAM, less storage, worse cameras, or shoddier construction, but the Galaxy S6 requires the fewest compromises of any of this year’s phones.

While the screen is the same size as last year’s Galaxy S5, the resolution has been bumped up to 2,560 by 1,440 pixels, or 577 pixels per inch. That’s the same resolution as the Galaxy Note 4, LG G3, or Nexus 6 phablets, but the S6’s smaller size makes the image crisper. The display experts at DisplayMate call the S6’s screen “the best performing smartphone display that we have ever tested.”

The Galaxy S6 has the best camera ever in an Android phone.

Samsung’s phone cameras have always been good, and the Galaxy S6 has the best camera ever in an Android phone. The 16MP rear camera protrudes from the flat back of the phone a little bit, but the extra girth allows for an f/1.9 aperture with improved low-light capture, as well as optical image stabilization to combat hand shakes. Reviewers have nearly unanimous praise for the camera. Android Central’s Andrew Martonik says, “Samsung’s camera experience offers the complete package, and one that I can’t really find a flaw with.” Florence Ion at Greenbot says, “I’m incredibly impressed by what Samsung has done with the Galaxy S6’s 16-megapixel camera.” AnandTech’s Joshua Ho says, “When it comes to flagship Android phones, the Galaxy S6 has the best camera, and there’s really nothing else to be said.”

The Samsung Galaxy S6 has the best screen and camera of any Android phone, powerful hardware, and a fingerprint reader that actually works.

When you do need to plug in, the Galaxy S6’s adaptive fast charging can take the phone’s battery from dead to 50 percent in half an hour.

Samsung sacrificed a bit of battery capacity to keep the Galaxy S6 slim, and that’s a bigger deal this year, because unlike all Samsung’s past Galaxy S phones, you can’t swap the battery in the Galaxy S6. (Of current-gen smartphones, only the LG G4 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 still offer removable batteries) It should still get you through a day thanks to more-efficient hardware. When you do need to plug in, the Galaxy S6’s adaptive fast charging can take the phone’s battery from dead to 50 percent in half an hour, as long as you’re using the included charger or one that supports Quick Charge 2.0.

The S6’s fingerprint sensor is the closest to Apple’s TouchID that you’ll get on an Android phone.

The Galaxy S5 and Note 4 both included swipe-style fingerprint readers on the home button, which didn’t work very well. The touch fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy S6 is both fast and secure. Ron Amadeo at ArsTechnica writes, “For the S6 the fingerprint system is completely revamped and… it just works.” Android Police claims, “The fingerprint reader is so fast it almost obviates the need for [Android 5.0] Smart Lock.” It’s the closest thing to Apple’s TouchID that you’ll get on an Android phone.

The lack of removable storage will bother some people, but Android phones have been moving away from microSD for some time, in part because the cards aren’t fast enough for many apps and games to run well. Most people will be fine with the 32GB base model, but people who need a lot of media storage can get the 64GB or even 128GB versions.

Samsung’s TouchWiz interface has long been criticized for clutter and bloat, but the version on the S6 is built on Android 5.0 Lollipop and is more polished and faster than it’s ever been. Samsung removed or hid a plethora of apps and features that were gimmicky or didn’t work well, like Air View or one-handed mode. But, Android Central says, “Even with dramatic toning down of the interface, removal of superfluous features and Material-esque app redesigns, software on the GS6 still doesn’t feel complete or modern.”

We’ve been more than satisfied with the Galaxy S6’s software experience after turning off a few features (like S Voice and the Flipboard Briefing Screen) and replacing some of Samsung’s default apps (like messaging and the browser).

This summer, the Galaxy S6 will get Samsung Pay. Samsung Pay lets you pay at stores via your phone’s NFC chip, like Apple Pay and Google Wallet, but also uses magnetic secure transmission to let you pay with your phone on regular swipe-style credit-card readers. If it works well, this could be great, because you’ll be able to use it at many more stores than Apple Pay or Google Wallet.

We think most people will be happier with the regular Galaxy S6 than with the S6 Edge.

You probably shouldn’t get the Galaxy S6 Edge. The curved edges don’t add much in the way of features, it’s a little more awkward to hold, and it costs $100 more. The Edge feels like Samsung showing off: Greenbot calls it “Samsung’s vanity phone,” and The Verge says, “The S6 Edge is pretty, but not worth the extra $100.” We think most people will be happier with the regular Galaxy S6. If you really want to spend another $100, get the 64GB Galaxy S6 instead.

The Galaxy S6 came out in April 2015, so if you jump on it now you have almost a year before the S7 comes out. As long as you don’t want a removable battery or microSD card slot, this is the best overall Android phone out there.

Best phablet for multitaskers: Samsung Galaxy Note 4

The Galaxy Note 4 is large, but it's the best phablet for getting work done. Its size lets you benefit from Samsung's multitasking features like split-screen apps, and it includes a precise stylus. It also has a removable battery and a microSD card slot, which its smaller sibling lacks.

If you want a large phone/tablet hybrid that helps you get things done or can’t live without a removable battery and microSD card slot, you should get the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. It has a fantastic screen, a great camera, and excellent battery life. It’s almost as big as Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus, but it has an even bigger and sharper screen despite being slightly shorter. And unlike the iPhone 6 Plus and every other phablet out there, the Note 4 is designed for multitasking, with a dedicated stylus and software that lets you use two apps side-by-side. The Note 4 starts at $300 on-contract at AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and US Cellular, and $750 off-contract at T-Mobile.

The Note 4 has a 5.7-inch, 2560×1440 AMOLED screen; a 2.7GHz Snapdragon 805 CPU; 3 GB of RAM; 32 GB of storage; a microSD slot; and a 3,220-mAh battery. These were top-of-the-line specs last year, but the Note 4 still compares favorably to the latest devices. It has a 16MP rear camera with optical image stabilization, a 3.7MP front camera, Samsung’s iffy previous-generation fingerprint reader, a wonky heart-rate sensor, and the company’s S Pen stylus.

The Note 4 isn’t just big to be big. It takes advantage of its size in a way other phones don’t. For example, you can use multiple apps side by side, which you can’t on most phones. The Galaxy S5 and S6 also support side-by-side apps, but the Note 4’s screen is large enough for the feature to be useful. It also has a great stylus with of 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity for drawing or note-taking. Not everyone needs a stylus, though, and the phone’s size does preclude one-handed use. Still, CNET’s Jessica Dolcourt says, “If you intend to use the Note 4’s stylus daily, the phone will serve you well in every capacity and is worth the price.” Brad Molen at Engadget says, “The Galaxy Note 4 is the best large phone on the market.” Even David Pierce at The Verge concedes, “I was wrong about big phones.”

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is huge, but it’s the best phablet for multitaskers. Its screen and camera quality are second only to the Galaxy S6, and its battery life is even better.

The Note 4’s design still falls short of the Galaxy S6, but it’s far ahead of the Galaxy S5. David Pierce at The Verge says, “The phone that was once plastic, then faux-stitched faux-leather, now comes in a beautiful reinforced aluminum shell. Its big, 6.21-ounce, 8.3-millimeter-thick body is rigid and sturdy, sharp and angled. It’s a statement where Samsung’s phones were once utterly forgettable.”

Ars Technica’s Ron Amadeo calls the display “really, really nice looking,” but adds, “1440p is still a pointlessly high resolution for a smartphone.” Before the Galaxy S6 came out, DisplayMate named the Galaxy Note 4’s screen the best mobile display on the market.

Battery life is also great. Every reviewer got a full day of heavy use with at least 15 to 20 percent left over, and the battery lasted even longer under lighter workloads. Florence Ion at Greenbot reports two and a half days of normal use. While most people should expect shorter battery life, the Note 4 lasts longer than the S6 and almost every phone from last year, and it retains support for Quick Charge 2.0. That means it can be charged completely in less than two hours when using the included adaptive fast charger (or another Quick Charge 2.0 charger).

The Note 4’s cameras are nearly as good as those on the Galaxy S6. David Pierce writes, “All things considered, the Note 4 is easily among the best Android cameras I’ve used. It’s not leaps and bounds beyond its competitors, but it’s an excellent, reliable camera.” On the other hand, David Ruddock at Android Police cautions that taking two snapshots of the same scene would often produce images which “looked considerably different from one another, particularly in regard to white balance.”

Since the Note 4’s stylus is a big reason you’d get this phablet over another, it has to work right; for the most part it does. Reviewers still complain that the pen feels cheap, but they generally agree that it works fine for note-taking, sketching, and interacting with the phone UI.

Most of Samsung’s S Pen features push you toward the built-in apps and services. You can’t replace the shortcuts on the Air Command popup, and screen clippings always go into the Samsung Scrapbook app before you can sync them to other services. We would love to see easier integration with Evernote or Google Keep—the apps people actually use.

The TouchWiz interface of the Note 4 is more complex and uglier than the S6’s newer version, though it’s better than earlier phones.

Nearly every reviewer complains about the complex interface while also saying that Samsung is at least getting better at making it simpler. Ron Amadeo says the Note 4 suffers from the same problems as the Galaxy S5 and the rest of Samsung’s phones: “The software loadout is a fractured war zone, as some apps follow the new TouchWiz design, some apps follow the old TouchWiz design, apps designed by Google look like stock Android, and apps designed by AT&T look like … whatever AT&T’s developers were going for at the time.”

Samsung’s original build of KitKat on the Note 4 was occasionally laggy, but the Lollipop update fixed most of the UI lag, and the S Pen is now more responsive. It’s still not as fast as the Galaxy S6 or the Nexus 6 in daily use, but if you want a true phablet, this is it.

What about unlocked phones?

Most phones sold in the US are locked, meaning they work only on the wireless carrier you bought them from, even if there’s no technical reason they wouldn’t work on another carrier. This is especially the case with subsidized phones—ones you buy at a discount in exchange for signing a long-term contract with your carrier.

But there are a couple good reasons to instead buy an off-contract, unlocked phone (at full price, of course) rather than one that’s carrier subsidized. The first is that you’re not locked into a two-year contract with your carrier—you can easily switch to another at any time. The second is that an unlocked GSM phone can be used on AT&T or T-Mobile or any of the “virtual operators” that use the the two companies’ networks; it can also be taken with you when you travel to other countries. Verizon phones now ship GSM unlocked, too, so they’re good for international travel. (Most of the world uses GSM networks, so you can just buy a cheap prepaid SIM in the new country to get data and cell service without having to buy a second phone or pay exorbitant roaming fees.)

Buying an unlocked phone also gives access to phones which are cheaper and better than anything offered by your carrier.

The downside of an unlocked phone is that unless it’s specifically noted, the phone won’t work with Verizon or Sprint in the US, since those networks run on CDMA, rather than GSM (the Nexus 6 being an exception).

Unlocked GSM phones are also great for use with T-Mobile’s contract-free Simple Choice plans, which offer unlimited texting and 2G data in a bunch of countries worldwide, along with unlimited phone, text, and LTE in the US, for $80 per month. That’s pretty tempting, though T-Mobile’s stateside LTE network isn’t yet as widespread as Verizon’s or AT&T’s. See our Best Wireless Carriers guide for more info about carriers and their capabilities.

Best cheap unlocked phone: Moto G

The Moto G is the best Android phone you can get for $200 without a carrier contract. It has a good screen, fast-enough performance, and a crap-free interface. You won't get the same speed as a flagship phone, but it's a third of the price.

Midrange unlocked phones are getting increasingly popular, but the market is still a bit of a minefield. Some models are okay, but others aren’t even worth their meager asking price. If you need the cheapest decent phone you can get, that’s the Motorola Moto G. Compared to most phones in this price range, the Moto G has amazing build quality and software.

If you need the cheapest decent phone you can get, that’s the Motorola Moto G.

There are two versions of the Moto G: a 4.5-inch-screen phone from 2013 and a 5-inch model released in 2014. Both have the same 720p resolution, identical quad-core Snapdragon processors, and 1 GB of RAM. The 2013 Moto G is just $200 with LTE, while the newer 2014 version without LTE is $180. We think the older LTE version is the better value for people in the US, since both phones are so similar otherwise.

The new model does add a microSD slot, dual front-facing speakers, and an 8MP camera that’s better than the 2013’s 5MP, but neither is great. The Moto G isn’t a great phone if you want to take a lot of photos. The autofocus tends to be soft, and low-light performance is substandard. Motorola can’t even get the camera right on its flagship phones, though, so this isn’t a surprise.

As Andrew Cunningham at Ars Technica says of the 2013 model, “This handset obviously isn’t meant to compete with $600-and-up flagships, but it’s trying to redefine a part of the market that’s now served by years-old phones and barely usable garbage.”

Chris Velazco at Engadget says of the 2014 model, “This won’t be a phone that you fall hard and fast for. It won’t sweep you off your feet, nor will it dazzle you with a slew of whiz-bang features. That’s just fine, though. Because none of that changes the fact that the Moto G is still one of the best budget smartphones you can buy today.” Andrew Williams from TechRadar gives the 2014 Moto G 4.5 out of five stars and says it offers a “superb value.”

Both editions of the Moto G have Android 5.0 updates available, and each is completely free of carrier junk. Motorola itself adds only a few apps like the camera, gallery, and the Moto Assist automation app. It’s basically a Nexus-like stock Android phone.

The competition (which are also great)

The LG G4 lacks some features of the Samsung Galaxy S6, but it has a fantastic camera, a great screen, and (unlike the S6) a removable battery and a microSD card slot.

If a microSD slot and a removable battery are more important to you than all-metal construction, a fingerprint reader, wireless charging, or an AMOLED screen, consider the LG G4 instead of the Samsung Galaxy S6. Removable batteries are good if you’re worried about your battery dying after several years, or if you just like carrying spares rather than USB batteries. A microSD slot is good if you need to carry a lot of big media files (FLAC audio or HD video) on your phone, and microSD cards are a lot cheaper than onboard memory. And if you need such features, you probably don’t understand why most phone manufacturers have dropped them. Good thing LG has your back. The G4 has a crisp 5.5-inch 2560×1440 display, a great camera, a removable 3,000-mAh battery, and a microSD card slot.

Although we don’t think it’s quite as good as the Galaxy S6, it offers several features that might make it a better choice, depending on what you want in a smartphone. The Verge gave the LG G4 a score of 7.9 out of 10 and CNET went with a mark of 8 out of 10. Engadget was slightly more generous with a rating of 87 out of 100.

As the G4 is a premium phone, you can expect to pay $200 with a new contract on most carriers, or around $20 per month with a payment plan. The full retail price is $600 to $650, depending on the carrier. Unlocked versions are dipping below $600 on eBay and Amazon, so keep an eye out. Engadget’s Chris Velazco says the 5.5-inch 2560×1440 LCD is “easily among the best smartphone screens I’ve ever seen.”

In viewing angles, color, and brightness, the G4’s screen is almost as good as the Galaxy S6’s. The display is also slightly curved (top to bottom, like a banana). LG offers no functional reason for this design; it just looks neat. Instead of the eight-core 810 CPU that the HTC One M9 and LG G Flex 2 both use, the LG G4 runs a six-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 CPU. The 808 runs cooler and slower than the 810, which tends to overheat quickly, slowing down the phone.

The G4 is fast enough for most people, but the Galaxy S6 crushes it in benchmarks—not that benchmarks matter much. Ars Technica’s Ron Amadeo sums it up: “Subjectively, the device feels plenty fast, and we prefer the saner heat output of the 808.” The G4 has 3 GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage (plus a microSD card slot), and a 3000-mAh removable battery. With the Galaxy S6, Samsung ditched the microSD slot and removable battery—the G4 is one of the few flagship phones that still have both. Unlike the Galaxy S6, the G4 doesn’t ship with a fast-charge AC adapter and doesn’t support wireless charging. It also lacks a fingerprint reader (boo) and heart-rate sensor (meh). The removable back means the device has a less solid feel than other flagship phones. The Verge says the G4 has a “standard grey plastic back, which feels pretty cheap compared to the glass and metal finishes of the iPhone, HTC One M9, or Galaxy S6.”

However, this construction means you can swap out the back for one of several options that might be more to your taste. We tested the leather-backed version. LG says the back is “vegetable-tanned, full grain leather” but it just feels cheap leather stretched over a plastic base. Android Central calls the leather backs “gorgeous, ” but we prefer the plastic options, which at least have an interesting texture.

One back option for the LG G4 consists of a thin layer of leather stretched over a plastic frame. Note the power and volume buttons below the camera lens.

Similar to other recent LG phones, the G4 has its volume and power buttons on the back under the camera. As Alex Dobie at Android Central explains, “putting buttons on the back may seem weird and counterintuitive, but the placement is such that they’re easy to press with your index finger whichever hand you’re using.”

When the G4 is lying face up, the buttons are blocked, but you can wake the phone by tapping on the screen, so you don’t have to pick it up every time. One lame decision: The speaker is also on the back of the phone. Front-facing, or at least on the bottom edge, would be better. It’s pretty loud, though. The LG G4 has a 16-megapixel camera with an ultra-wide f/1.8-aperture lens for great low-light photos.

LG’s camera app includes a plethora of options for tweaking the camera’s functionality, even including a switch for raw-file output. That means you’ll get uncompressed DNG files that you can edit in programs like Adobe Lightroom.

Dan Seifert at The Verge says the G4’s camera is “the most comprehensive manual camera mode I’ve used on any smartphone.” We’d place the G4’s camera on equal footing with that of the Galaxy S6, but some reviewers think it’s even better. According to Greenbot, the G4’s camera “really is the best overall Android smartphone camera out on the market right now.” The LG G4 ships with the latest version of Android 5.1 beneath LG UX 4.0.

Android Police says that “LG’s UI is really struggling to keep up with the times, and in Lollipop it arguably looks more out of place than ever.” The Verge pulls zero punches, saying: “Ugly color choices combine with confusing menus and obnoxious sound effects to make for a pretty lousy first experience.”

The LG G4 is a good choice for someone who wants a great screen and camera, plus a removable battery and a microSD card slot. It’s smaller, lighter, and newer than the Samsung Galaxy Note 4—the only other great phone with a removable battery and microSD slot—so if you don’t need a stylus and you want a device that ought to receive Android M sooner than the year-old Note 4, the G4 is the way to go.

The Nexus 6 is even larger than the Note 4 or iPhone 6 Plus, but it has great build quality, a fast and fresh pure Android OS without bloat or clutter, and great speakers.

It’s the best phablet for people who just want a big phone.

Some people buy phablets for multitasking; others just like having a big phone for web browsing, email, and watching videos and don’t care about styluses or productivity apps. If that’s you, the Google Nexus 6 is the best option right now. it’s a hulked-out version of the 2014 Moto X, running the latest stock version of Android, so it’s much easier to navigate than Samsung’s TouchWiz interface, which is still cluttered by comparison. It’s the best phablet for people who just want a big phone, or for people who are wary of carrier lock-in, since it works on all four major carriers. While you’re lucky to get 18 months of update support on a flagship phone purchased through your carrier, Google keeps Nexus phones up to date for at least two years, and sometimes longer. It will be the first phone to update to Android M, whenever that happens.

The Nexus 6 starts at $250 on-contract, $650 off-contract, and is available from the Google Store and on all four major US carriers.

The Nexus 6 has a six-inch, 2560×1440 AMOLED screen. It has a 2.7GHz Snapdragon 805 quad-core CPU, Adreno 420 GPU, and 3 GB of RAM. It comes in 32GB and 64GB capacities (no microSD slot) and has a 3220-mAh non-removable battery. It supports Qi wireless charging.

The Google Nexus 6, made by Motorola, is the best phablet for people who want a huge phone and the absolute latest version of Android.

The Nexus 6 is huge—bigger than the Note 4, the iPhone 6 Plus, and the OnePlus One—and it makes no concessions to its size other than putting the power button on the middle of the right edge instead of closer to the top. It’s also not particularly grippy, and there’s no one-handed mode, stylus, or reachability mode.

But, as Jason Cross notes at Greenbot, “It’s also true what the phablet-lovers have been saying for the past couple years: that an oversized phone is too big at first, but after a while, it’s hard to go back to anything smaller.” He’s right. After a week using the Nexus 6, the Moto X feels like a small toy.

Having the latest version of Android—and the features that come with it—is important to some people, and most Android phone makers are still very bad at providing it. Android 5.0 Lollipop came out in November 2014; as of May 2015 less than ten percent of Android phones run it. Less than one percent run Android 5.1; most of them are Nexuses. The display isn’t quite as good as the one on the Note 4, but you probably won’t notice a difference unless the two phablets are side by side. And its size can be a real boon.

The Verge’s Dieter Bohn says, “So many of the foibles of smartphones become lessened or eliminated simply because there’s simultaneously more space on the screen and many of those things are bigger and easier to tap. It’s easier to show stuff on your phone to other people, it’s easier to turn it into a reading and movie-watching gadget, and it’s way easier to type on.”

We like the Nexus 6’s dual front-facing speakers, though they aren’t quite as good as the ones on the HTC One M8 or M9. As Mat Honan says, “It still has a certain Motel 6 clock radio quality to it, but it’s completely listenable” even at high volumes.

The Nexus 6 has by far the best camera ever for a Nexus phone, but that’s not saying much—all the past ones have been rather bad. Compared to the spectacular cameras of the Note 4 and Galaxy S6, the Nexus 6’s 13MP camera is not great.

Battery life is better than phones such as the Galaxy S6 or Moto X, but it won’t top the longevity of the Note 4 or OnePlus One. This is probably because the display (an AMOLED panel made by Samsung) is a generation behind the more-efficient displays Samsung uses on its own phones.

Reviewers agree that the Nexus 6 is a good device, with great software, but they’re divided on recommendations because of the device’s size and cost. The Verge’s Dieter Bohn gives the Nexus 6 an 8.6. Mat Honan at WIRED gives it a more measured 7 out of 10. Android Police says, “Google has effectively removed the need to qualify its flaws with its price, and in fact there are very few flaws at all as far as I can tell.” But Ron Amadeo at Ars Technica says “Right now, nothing justifies the size of the Nexus 6. The battery isn’t huge, and you’re mostly getting the same Android you’d get on a 5-inch device, just bigger.”

The Nexus 6 is the only phone that works on Google’s new Project Fi virtual hybrid carrier. This service, which will cost $20 per month for talk and text plus $10 per GB of data, hops between T-Mobile and Sprint’s networks based on whichever has better service in your location (it supports both CDMA and GSM). There are no overages, and anything you don’t use is refunded to you the following month. It’s an interesting option, but most people shouldn’t consider it unless they’re really sold on the Nexus 6.

It's a little older, but the OnePlus One is still a great unlocked phone. It has good guts, a great 1080p screen, a decent camera, and terrific battery life.

The OnePlus One is the best phone you can get for $350 (for now). It’s huge—slightly shorter and skinnier than the iPhone 6 Plus and Galaxy Note 4—with a 5.5-inch 1080p screen, a 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 processor, 3 GB of RAM, 16 or 64GB of storage, and a 13MP camera. Its guts match those of most 2014 flagships, but it’s a little behind the curve compared to 2015 phones, and it doesn’t have an IR blaster, fingerprint reader, or wireless charging built in. However, the $300 price ($350 for the 64GB version) is substantially lower than the cost of most devices of this caliber.

The One runs Cyanogen OS 12, a customizable ROM based on Android 5.0 Lollipop. OnePlus is also making a ROM of its own called Oxygen OS following a breakup with Cyanogen Inc. Oxygen OS looks nice enough, but it’s light on features. OnePlus One owners can choose whether they want to use Cyanogen or Oxygen, but you shouldn’t count on long-term Cyanogen OS support.

The One works on AT&T and T-Mobile’s LTE networks. It gets good reviews, and you can (finally) buy it without an invite. (Yes, you used to need an invitation to buy this phone.)

The OnePlus One is the best phone you can get for $350, but it’s large, its guts are a year old, and it was hard to find until very recently.

The One is fast and capable, and close to stock Android—but tweakable in a way power users will appreciate. The sandstone-finish backplate is grippy (although the finish is wearing off of the corners of our review unit after a few months), the speakers are loud, the screen is gorgeous, and the battery lasts all day. We’re not alone in our praise: PCMag’s Eugene Kim gives it an Editors’ Choice award and says the 1080p IPS screen is one of the best he’s ever seen in a phone. Gizmodo named the One the best cheap smartphone you can get. Time’s Jared Newman says, “It’s hard to imagine a better phone for Android geeks.”

With a 5.5-inch screen, the OnePlus One definitely creeps into phablet territory, but it’s a little smaller than devices like the Nexus 6 and Note 4. If you’re after a big phone and don’t want to break the bank, get the OnePlus One.

Its camera and guts can't match the S6, but the Moto X has a great clean version of Android with useful tweaks and is the most customizeable of any Android phone thanks to Moto Maker.

Until recently, we recommended the 2014 Moto X for its excellent software and attractive design. Nothing has changed with the phone, but it’s been a little outpaced by newer phones such as the Galaxy S6. Still, if you like stock Android and want a phone smaller than the Nexus 6, the Moto X is a good choice. It has a quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 2 GB of RAM, 16 or 32 GB of storage, and a 5.2-inch 1080p AMOLED screen. The 2300-mAh battery is a little small for a flagship phone, but you should get through the day comfortably.

The Moto X is available on contract from Verizon and AT&T for anywhere from $1 to $100 depending on the day. An unlocked “Pure Edition” model that works on T-Mobile and AT&T is $500. This phone can be purchased through Moto Maker, Motorola’s online customization tool, where you can choose from among two front colors, 10 accent colors, and 24 different backplates from plastic to wood to leather. Some combinations look amazing, while others are truly hideous; the build quality is solid no matter what.

The Moto X adds a few useful features to stock Android Lollipop, like at-a-glance notifications, contextual actions, and always-on voice control.

The software is some of the best you’ll see on an Android phone. The UI is almost completely stock, but Motorola has added genuinely good extras. For example, Moto Display displays your notifications and a clock on the screen when you pick up your phone, before you even press the unlock button. Moto Voice lets you use Google Now voice commands even when the phone is off and the screen is locked. The activation phrase is configurable too, so you can go with “Computer respond,” or “What’s up, Jarvis?”

We wish the Moto X’s photos were better. The camera on the Moto X is a 13MP Sony sensor very similar to what’s in the Nexus 6, but Motorola can’t seem to get the software processing right. Jason Cross at Greenbot says, “If you demand the very best photos from your phone, you’ll be disappointed by the new Moto X. The shots I took over several days of use were average at best, and I was never once surprised by a photo that came out better than expected.” DigitalTrends, AnandTech, Engadget, Ars Technica, and PCMag agree.

HTC One M9: a step back from last year

We expected the HTC One M9 to be stronger competition for the Galaxy S6. It has great build quality with an aluminum unibody frame, and HTC’s Sense 7 UI is still the best manufacturer version of Android outside of Motorola’s. However, its design is almost identical to that of the HTC One M8 from last year, and it has the same 5-inch, 1080p LCD screen. The camera is also disappointing. The Galaxy S6 is a better choice for most buyers. Even if you love Sense and hate TouchWiz, some reviewers recommend picking up a used M8 instead of the M9. (Cnet gives the M9 four out of five stars, and The Verge went with 8.3 out of 10. Wired was more cautious with a seven out of 10.) The HTC One M9 is available on all US carriers for $200 on-contract or $650 without. HTC also sells developer and unlocked North American models directly, which is unusual for top-tier Android manufacturers.

According to Engadget’s review, ” [the] screen isn’t as vivid as last year’s model.” Android Police says, “While the M9’s screen isn’t going to win any awards for best-in-a-smartphone, it’s not bad by any means.” The screen will be fine for most people—1080p is a high-enough resolution at five inches, though the colors are a little flat and you won’t get the deep blacks of an AMOLED.

The One M9 also includes 3 GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage, a microSD card slot, a 2840-mAh battery, a 20MP camera, and an eight-core Snapdragon 810 processor.

The M9 is a touch thicker and heavier than the Galaxy S6, but it feels very solid and comfortable in the hand. Like the M8, the M9 has a unibody aluminum shell, but this year’s phone has a lip around the edge that makes it a little easier to grip, though less elegant, than the M8). Evan Kypreos at Trusted Reviews says, “It’s a good-looking phone, full of slick design touches and craftsmanship – a word HTC keeps using, and with good reason – but we like the M8 more.”

The power button has moved from the top (on the M8) to the side (on the M9), which is good, but it’s very close to the volume toggles. That can make it awkward to find by touch. David Ruddock at Android Police says, “I have no idea how such close placement on such crappy, extremely recessed buttons made it past usability testing.”

The HTC One M9 has great build quality, software, and speakers, as always, but its camera is still disappointing; most people considering the M9 should get the Galaxy S6 or even last year’s One M8.

The One M9 keeps the front-facing Boom Sound speakers of previous models, and they’re still the best speakers on any smartphone.

Despite the 1080p screen and a huge battery for its screen size, the HTC One M9 manages only average battery life. The M9’s battery life is best described as “inconsistent.” It seems to have great standby time, but it chews through battery faster than it should when the processor is ramped up. The Snapdragon 810 CPU is said to have heat and efficiency issues, so perhaps that’s the problem here.

Reviewers are unanimous: HTC dropped the ball with the M9’s camera. The M7 and M8 had 4MP cameras that were great in low light but not great in any other circumstance. For the M9, HTC went with a 20MP image sensor and moved the 4MP Ultrapixel camera to the front. Yet according to The Verge, “the M9’s camera is a huge disappointment, not only because it doesn’t improve upon last year’s M8, but because it simply doesn’t work as well as many of the other phones you can choose from.” WIRED again: “Shots are soft and mushy next to the iPhone 6 or the S6, with details coming out like watercolors.”

In side-by-side shots taken with the M9 and Galaxy S6, the M9 photo invariably lacks detail. The M9 doesn’t have optical image stabilization, so images are often blurry, too. An update to the M9 shortly after launch tweaked the camera image processing, but ComputerWorld’s JR Raphael says,”We’re still talking ‘okay’ to ‘decent’ as opposed to “great” in terms of overall quality — and there are still areas where the [camera] just plain struggles.”

On the other hand, the M9’s software is fantastic. The Sense 7 skin on Android has some cool features, yet it’s “smarter and great at getting out of your way,” according to Engadget. The BlinkFeed home screen is responsive and attractive, and there’s a fully customizable theme engine that’s ten times better than Samsung’s theme store. HTC hasn’t changed much, but it didn’t have to. Sense was already great as far as Android skins go.

The Sony Xperia Z3C is the best sub-five-inch phone you can get, but carriers don’t sell it and it only works on AT&T and T-Mobile.

Sony Z3 Compact: A smaller, unlocked option (but you have to buy direct)

If you still think a five-inch screen is too big, the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact is one of your few good options. It’s a really good, modern phone for people who don’t like huge phones, but none of the US carriers sell the Xperia Z3C directly, which is a huge drawback. You can order the unlocked LTE version from Sony for $470 or get it on Amazon for under $400. It will work on AT&T or T-Mobile in the US.

In 2015, most sub-five-inch phones are underpowered, crappier versions of the big flagships, so it’s difficult to find a truly great one in this size range—you generally get lower-resolution screens, slower processors, and crummier cameras. Not so with the Z3C. It has almost everything you’d want: a 4.6-inch 720p screen, a 2.5GHz quad-core processor, 2 GB of RAM, a 20MP main camera, and up to two days of battery life—you can even stream your PlayStation 4 games to its screen. Yes, it’s only a 720p screen in a year when we’re regularly talking about 1440p, but at 4.6 inches, that’s still 319 pixels per inch, which is roughly comparable to the 326-ppi pixel density of Apple’s (non-Plus) iPhone 6. We think it looks more than acceptable. It even has IP68 water resistance, so it won’t break if you drop it in the toilet.

CNET’s Andrew Hoyle gives the Z3 Compact 4 stars and says, “It’s still a wonderfully comfortable size, thanks to Sony’s efforts to slim down the once gigantic bezel. It’s also got more processing power than you’ll know what to do with, its camera can take some terrific shots, and it won’t break the first time you drop it in the toilet.”

Vlad Savov at The Verge gives it an 8.6 rating and says, “The smaller and cheaper Z3 [Compact] is just about the perfect size for a phone while retaining the excellent battery life and performance specs of the outsized flagship handset. Its downsides pale into insignificance when set against the assurance of having a superbly durable, long-lasting, and fast phone that’s also a joy to handle and use. There’s no other phone like it on the market today.”

Last year’s model

If you don’t need the absolute latest and greatest, but like the idea of getting a premium phone rather than a budget model, consider one of last year’s top phones. The Samsung Galaxy S5, LG G3, and HTC One M8 are still good options if you can’t afford a Galaxy S6.

The HTC One M8 is possibly the most appealing previous-generation phone this year because it’s very similar to the M9, but sells for under $500. You can get an unlocked version for use in the US for about $450 without a contract. The software is still very good, but it won’t see the same speedy updates as the M9. The M8 has a slightly nicer 1080p LCD than the M9, and it gets better battery life. The 4MP Duo Camera is gimmicky and low-res, but the new 20MP camera on the M9 isn’t great, either. In fact, AnandTech actually recommends the M8 over the M9.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 has a 5.1-inch screen, but the resolution is 1080p instead of 1440p as on the Galaxy S6. It’s still a fantastic display, though. The S5 also gets an Android 5.0 update out of the box, and it includes 2 GB of RAM, a removable battery, and a microSD card slot. It’s decidedly more bulky than the GS6, and the design is all plastic, but it has IP67 water and dust resistance and better battery life than the S6. Most carriers offer this device for free (or very close to it) with a contract, or for just a few bucks per month on a payment plan.

The LG G3 has been replaced by the G4, but you can grab one of these for cheap on all the major carriers. It has a 1440p LCD display, a Snapdragon 801 processor, and 3 GB of RAM. The 13MP camera is surprisingly good—even better than that on the Galaxy S5—and the laser-autofocus feature really works. The plastic build is fine, but it’s not as nice overall as the M8, and the battery life is inconsistent. It also has a Lollipop update available, but don’t expect any more major updates.

Sony’s Xperia Z3 is still a good phone. It has a 5.2-inch 1080p IPS screen, 2.5GHz SnapDragon 801 processor, 3 GB of RAM, 16 or 32 GB of storage, a microSD slot, and a 20MP rear camera. It’s even 1P68 water-resistant, like the Z3C. It has a glass back and metal sides, like the Galaxy S6, its version of Android is pretty clean, and its battery life is phenomenal. The only problems are that the camera’s autofocus can be wonky, the glass back can be slippery, and its only US carrier, T-Mobile, is frequently out of stock. There’s a Z4 coming this summer in Japan, but it may not ever reach the US.

What to look forward to

Asus announced that some of the company’s new Zenfones are actually coming to the US, which would be a first. The Zenfone 2 will start at just $200 unsubsidized; it will come with a 5.5-inch 1080p screen, a 1.8GHz quad-core Intel processor, and up to 4GB of RAM. It could be great or skippable—we’ll update this piece when we’ve had some hands-on time with it.

The Verge said the ZenFone 2’s best feature is its low price tag—$300 for an unlocked phablet with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of memory. But that price includes dealing with bloatware, mediocre hardware, and an uninspired design. Asus said in June it’s releasing a special edition of the ZenFone2 called the ZenFone Selfie, which features a front-facing 13MP camera. No word yet on how much extra the improved camera will cost.

Motorola debuted its new Moto G and Moto X phones on July 28. Last year’s Moto G was our top pick for a cheap, unlocked phone. Motorola has upgraded the cameras to the same 13 MP and 5 MP cameras in the Nexus 6, increased the size of the battery slightly, and made the phone water resistant for up to 30 minutes. The Verge’s hands-on video claims the phone feels more premium and durable than the previous iteration, but we’ll get a feel for it ourselves when we test it. This year’s model will be $180 for an 8GB model and $220 for a 16GB model. It’s available today from Amazon, Best Buy, and Motorola’s website.

The new Moto X Style (which will be known as the Moto X Pure in the US) features a 21 MP rear-facing camera and a larger battery Motorola claims can last 48 hours—though we have our doubts. The screen size is increased to 5.7”, and the phone will be available unlocked for any US carrier for $400. As CNET reports, Motorola is betting it can sell the new Moto X directly to consumers when it launches this September. Take a look at the Verge’s hands-on video here. We’ll be looking at both these phones as soon as we can.

OnePlus has announced their follow-up to the One, the OnePlus 2. The new phone has a beefed up 13MP rear camera and 5MP front-facing camera, and now comes with a fingerprint scanner and USB-C port. The display’s resolution and size remains 5.5” and 1080p, but has improved contrast.

Keep in mind that OnePlus’ phones still only work on AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks, can only be purchased off contract, and require you to register for an invite system to pre-order. The model with 4GB RAM and 64GB memory will be available on August 11 for $390, with a 3GB RAM/16GB memory model coming later that month.

Sean Hollister of Gizmodo got some hands-on time with the phone, and says he’s already considering switching carriers to get one. We’re looking forward to considering this phone as an inexpensive off-contract phablet option.

The Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 could also contend as the best cheap unlocked phone. It will launch in late May for just $250. It will work on any US GSM network and has support for a ton of LTE bands. The Idol 3 will be equipped with a octa-core Snapdragon processor, 2 GB of RAM, and a 5.5-inch 1080p LCD. The software is also a nearly stock build of Android. We’ll have more to say about this phone once we can spend some time with it.

Good roundup, though obviously targeted to a more mainstream interest (which I generally think is the point of this site, and I fully support it). That said, it’s worth noting that software concerns are really easily mitigated if not completely alleviated through alternate lock screens, launchers, etc. And with Jelly Bean’s ability to disable apps, you can really hide whatever software annoys you most. It’s not quite like the old days when you needed to root and potentially install a new ROM onto a phone to get away from a bad software experience.

It is indeed a good time to be shopping for an Android phone. I was stuck firmly between four different phones just a few weeks ago – the Moto X, the HTC One, the Galaxy S4, and the Droid MAXX. Ultimately, the camera, microSD card support (made an upgrade to an effective 32GB capacity only about $20), and screen quality made me spring for the S4.

Also, one last point I’d like to make is that while accessories were mentioned in the iPhone obligatory section of this review, they were mentioned nowhere else. The iPhone’s homogenous physical design and sheer number of devices make accessories easy to come by – not so for most Android phones. I’ve found that the number of accessories available for the S4 really exceed my expectations having come from other less popular Android devices in the past. So, if you anticipate any kind of desire for specialized docks, car cradles, cases, and the like, the S4 is a great pick relative to it’s other flagship counterparts.

I was so excited for the MOTO x. But the moto maker being only for at&t was a deal breaker. Then I saw the red HTC one and was sold on that, sprint only, deal breaker. So hard to see the fragmentation of Android aesthetically by carrier.

Isn’t word of the new nexus that the fcc report says it has verizon radios? Seems important.

And a request wirecutter: please do an article on phone adp waranties. I consider myself pretty savvy but i cant figure it out.

Chris D.

It is also worth noting that Republic Wireless just announced that the Moto X will be it’s new phone. $300 with no contract. There will be a variety of plans topping out at $40/month, and you can switch your plan level up to twice a month depending on needs. Available in November.

This will likely be the choice for our family. We are around wifi so much anyway that it should work well. I think that I will be fine with the $10 plan which is wifi only plus talk and text, and my wife will do well with the $25 plan that includes 3G. $35/month for a cell phone bill with a decent phone will be incredibly helpful for the budget. Over the life of the phone it will add up to a lot of savings.

Mr. Potatohead

RW has a great plan and a great phone. The Moto X works great with wi-fi, but my caveat is check out Sprint before the 30 day return contract expires. Sprint in Santa Cruz, Ca is abysmal–couldn’t connect to my home phone. That was a deal breaker. Now if RW had a deal with Verizon I’d be there in a heartbeat.

Adam Leach

Where is the speaker located? One of the selling points of the HTC ONE is the dual front facing speakers, and they do sound great. I have an SG3 and it makes me jealous. Does the Moto X have a plain rear so speaker like the SG3 and SG4?

Jon B

I’m going forward with the Moto X as soon as wood backs are released. I’m really looking forward to your iPhone 5s review though. Are you going to be merging the “best phone” and “best Android phone” into a single feature?

Jon B

As a follow up, I have purchased the Mahogany backed Moto X and have been using it for about 2 weeks. It’s lovely.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Happy to hear! Thanks for the feedback!

Andrew B

why didn’t you mention the new Sony Xperia Z1??

Lester Tsui

There is really too much hype for it.

Andrew B

I don’t understand what your saying? Its been released and its available to buy, and has specs that beat S4 and HTC one…give me and actual reason why it shouldn’t be mentioned?

Lester Tsui

It isnt all about specs, and don’t mention the camera. 1/2.3 inch is literally nothing. It is a phone with a point and shoot camera sensor

Andrew B

All I’m asking for is that the article is fairly written is that so hard? Now that your the one who has mentioned the camera, your correct in saying the Z1 has a 1/2.3 sensor but every other phone has the smaller 1/3.2in (except for the Nokia 1020). I like how you say specs are nothing then go straight into talking about sensor specs. Can someone else except for the guy above who must have learning difficulties reply?

Anita S

any credibility to the reports lately about a Q4 Moto X price drop? If so any specific details of when we can expect it?

Derek Jones

This article came at a perfect time one of my clients cwas just askin me for my input of which phones to get for his employees. He’s leaning toward iPhones and I tried to tell him go Moto X, it feels good to be right!

SkiingInstead

What about the Droid Maxx? To me it looks like essentially the exact same phone just a different shape, slightly larger screen, and a huge battery. Is there any reason not to get this phone if I like having the 2 day battery instead?

pierrot

But… the HTC One is just so sexy!

Chris

You mention 802.11ac in the intro, but once you get into the Moto X specifically, you fail to mention whether or not it supports it (I believe that it does?).

Brandon

Review the N1 please

eaadams

Moto Maker on Verizon on Nov 11th….

who’s your daddy

lol recommending people to buy a phone from a manufacturer who has announced their quit from smartphone market. genius.

as0423

why is the phone still $200 at verizon? its down to $100 at at&t and you can customize it using moto maker. verizon has no reason to leave it at $200

ethulin

When do you think you are going to have your take on the Nexus 5 integrated in here?

Oliver Phillips

Klug didn’t say 20 hours of battery life for the Nexus 5, he said 20 hours until his testing would be complete. See his clarification here:

Honestly, you just can’t beat that price. Even after the Moto X got its price drop, the Nexus 5 is still $100 cheaper for the 32GB version. If you really want the extra features I suppose you could still argue in favor of the Moto X in that way, but I don’t feel like they’re worth an extra $100 premium.

The subsidies are a joke, too – you end up paying either the same amount or even more for the phone in the long run due to the extra monthly fees. I’d much rather just pay for everything up-front than add another monthly expense to the pile.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

But what if you’re on Verizon? I think the point is an across-network clear choice for the best Android handset. Plus, last time I checked it was Verizon on top as the number 1 carrier in the US.

http://hpka.net/ Henry Armitage

I would like to see an article which covers a few more use cases… the Moto G for example is being considered on my part because it might make a good travel/backup/second phone…

But please don’t get me wrong, I like having this “outright best” article.

Gabriel Flores

The Moto X can now be upgraded to KitKat 4.4 on Verizon. Article should be updated to reflect that.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Thanks for the note!

jay zhou

Android phones, even flagship phones, tend to start getting creaky and old around the year and a half mark, and the carriers stop supporting them with software updates almost immediately. http://www.1buy.com

Don

I may have missed it and therefore shame on me, but is there some information on what phone works for its primary purpose?? I am in a bit of a remote location and need a phone that gets really good reception to use in my house. There are few that I have tried that have the antenna support to make calls in the house work. On top of that many folks I talk to who live in the city have the same issues in their house too…. So I can volunteer that the original HTC (NOT the 3D) and the original Photon got the recipe (almost) right. My question is now I want to move to an LTE and away from Sprint. Who make the more robust antenna function??
Oh and incase it comes up, I know all about Fem-to so don’t suggest that, They don’t work much in an environment of WiFi access internet..

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Verizon & AT&T have the best coverage. You’ll want Verizon if you’re in a rural area. But be careful, when LTE isn’t available it tends to drop back to a much slower 3G network. Where are you located, if you don’t mind me asking?

Don

Thanks Tony, I am actually a retired network communications sales guy. So I am aware of the service anomalies. I am also a 15 year sprint customer in living in the (no) network area northwest of the airport in MO. The key to my goodservice is the antenna in the phone(hence the reason for this question.) Now there is an LTE tower from Sprint a mile from the house. Problem is getting to someone who will give a consistent story on service trials and costs. I am thinking about going to Verizon and killing this senoirity (which means absolutely nothing) with Sprint. I still would really like to understand the Robustness of the MOTO X though

eaadams

I have some news. Verizon Buisness Account’s can NOT use MotoMaker for the MotoX. Motorola support tells me to go to VZW store and buy a Moto Maker Card? Anyone know what this is?

My wife doesn’t usually like changing to something new and different, so replacing an iPhone with an iPhone 5s seemed like the easy path, but I was able to sway her to a Moto X. She liked being able to pick her own color and trim. Once she held the stock phone at the AT&T store, she was sold. The weight and curve are both great.

My older daughter was ready to step up to a smartphone. I could have gone with a $1 phone on contract, but she also loved the idea of customizing the back and trim. Combine that with the good experience my wife had, and I decided on a Moto X for the 16 year old as well.

Now the tricky one. The 14 year old really wants to be in the smartphone crowd, but we really want to maintain controls on her internet access for a while longer. I have no desire for her to have, or to pay for, a data plan, but I would not mind if she had wifi in the house, where we manage access. I feared we might have to get a non-smartphone. I stumbled onto the Moto G and I believe it will fit the bill perfectly. A reasonably priced off-contract smartphone. I don’t have to pay for a data plan, but she can have wifi access at home. Uh oh, what about wifi in other places? Android to the rescue. There are apps which PIN protect data access, both cellular and wifi.

A coworker went with Ting and a Nexus 5. I will be curious to see how he fares.

I love the idea of the pay for what you use model for 3 people who mostly use their phones for texting and most of their data is consumed over wifi. I wasn’t ready to cough up the off-contract prices for 3 new smartphones quite yet and I don’t have a lot of confidence in the Sprint coverage in my area, so AT&T has its hooks in for a while longer.

http://www.bytehead.org/blog/ Bryan “bytehead” Price

I think that this goes for all the US carriers, but certainly for AT&T.

Put your SIM card into a smart phone when you don’t have a data plan, and AT&T will put you on one. It might take a couple of months, but AT&T will detect it, and turn on the data plan.

I had two teenagers that lucked into two iPhones from their older siblings. And exactly that happened.

Stef Korporaal

I’d sure like a Nexus 5 for 350 dollars. In the Netherlands it’s about 400 euros off-contract, which works out to 549 dollars. If you try to get it with 100min/sms, 1000MB contract, you’re looking at 30~35 euros per month for two years, totaling 720-840 euros (990 to 1150 dollars).

I think it’s a mistake that you didn’t mention the Zoe and video highlight software adds for the HTC One. A zoe is a short 3 second moving picture, nothing really special. When you go through the gallery however it creates a Harry Potter newspaper-esque effect, really cool but not something super special. The video highlights is super special however. Basically you go to an event or whatever and take a bunch of pictures
and Zoes and it makes a highlight reel with funky filters and music, automatically. You can upload them to Youtube. Every single reviewer I read before I bought the phone loved it. I love it. It’s the only reason I don’t make my phone into a Google Play edition. My family and friends love the highlights I upload to youtube. It gets me to take more pictures. It truly is a feature that will make some people chose the HTC One over other phones. Considering everything else I would prefer the removable battery and expandable memory of an Play Edition S4, but I would never give up my Zoe highlights.

vision33r

I checked out the Moto X, nice phone but the screen is not as sharp as most phones in 2013.

No wonder the phone is cheap, it doesn’t have 1080p and no SD card slot which are both must have for Android users in 2013.

If a choice between moto X and Nexus 5, definitely Nexus 5 all the way.

RR

I love my MotoX phone that I got for my birthday. Wondered if you had any thoughts about apps – I recently signed up for Comcast Cable and Internet and they offer this app called ConstantGuard. Says it offers a faster and safer way to get to my online accounts and easier checkout when buying stuff online. Do you know anything about this app?

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Sorry, we really don’t cover apps.

Jason Johnson

Actually Nathan, you’re wrong about the Galaxy S5 (in a sense). It won’t be more bloatware on top of KitKat. The recent deal between Google and Samsung are seeing to it that the extreme bloatware and TouchWiz will not overpower pure Android.
Glad to see you’re doing well. Lost you, another person, and Chris the Internet over the last few months and I miss y’alls articles. Glad to see you offering hints and what not in the back section of the magazine. Keep up the good work.

daveryan

I tried the Moto X, and the battery life wasn’t as good as advertised.

I’ve had an Iphone 4 for three years, and I found it was made virtually obsolete very early (no Siri). Also, the screen is so narrow, it’s hard to even input my Apple password. I need a larger screen.

Smartphone technology is pretty mature, so I look for a couple of “hooks” to get my interest. Looking forward to the Samsung S5, for me the hooks are the waterproofing and the battery life. Better camera is fine, so is the super-fast processor. (My first iPhone 4 got a little wet at the beach, and it cost $170 for a replacement since Apple claimed it wasn’t repairable due to “corrosion”–overnight. Then I doubted….)

Another feature may save me money: Is S-Health good? Will the S-Health features on the S5 duplicate the essential functions of their new Samsung Gear Fit? Then I wouldn’t need to replace the Fitbit that I just lost.

I’d have to say, my Iphone’s GPS measures a hike I take as 3.6 miles (and the measurement varies), while my partner’s S3 GPS measures it as 3.2 miles, as is shown on the park map.

Those are the factors that are important to me in the next micro-generation of smartphones. The Moto X didn’t make it for me, though.

Omineca

Well, since you’ll be doing this again soon (reviewing the NEW best android phone, whatever it may be), I’ll point out that the comparable touchscreen BlackBerry is now the Z30. If you’re not an app-hound, and value security, it might be of interest.

Pablo

It would be nice if you make a review on small-size android smartphones… Kind of Sony X1 Compact…
All the companies are making phone screens larger and larger. I want an android with small screen….

Grumpylicious

As you look at the HTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5 I hope you will look into the myriad of problems that Sprint customers are facing with network issues related to the new tri-band phones. Surely these are growing pains, but I had to return an M8 yesterday because I couldn’t receive/make calls at all off certain cell sites.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

We don’t really deal with carriers – but I’ll forward this along. Thanks for the feedback!

Jake

Anxiously waiting the update for this article. My current phone is walking towards the light. Can you drop any hints for the desperate?

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

I can confirm our researcher is currently in the process of testing the new handsets (HTC One M8 & Galaxy S5), but thats it for now – and it doesn’t mean either will be the top pick. Check back soon!

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Incoming!

http://www.tushark.com/ Tushar Khandelwal

Will The Wirecutter also be reviewing the newly launched OnePlus One? I’d love to see this compared to the S5, HTC One (M8), Nexus 5, and any other phones you’d recommend!

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Maybe in the future, but we’re pretty much set with new Android handset research. Thanks for the note/feedback though!

http://www.tushark.com/ Tushar Khandelwal

you’re welcome! would love to see the team’ personal notes on the OnePlus One even if it’s not on the official post for the bet Android phone

Chixofnix

I would second this suggestion – the OnePlus One by all available accounts (presently limited) is specc’ed and constructed to compete with all the current flagships, and is pricing itself cheaper than the Nexus 5 ($299, or $349 for the 64Gb flavor). My phone’s on the fritz right now, and if it doesn’t last me long enough to see the next nexus, right now it looks like I’d replace it with either the nexus 5 or this OnePlus One.

Nathan Edwards

Once the OnePlus One is widely available I’ll definitely look into it as a competitor for the cheap-but-great phone segment.

El_Knid

I’m in the process of switching from Sprint to Verizon for lack of service issues, so I’m trying to figure out the most economical way to get onto Verizon ASAP, and still be able to upgrade to the Nexus 6 when it comes out in November.

Should I buy a used Verizon phone now? Should I buy a cheap phone from Verizon on the Edge plan? Any other ideas?

Daniel A.

I would suggest adding the Oneplus One to the “What to Look Forward to” section, as it’s arriving in a couple of weeks, and bests most of the Galaxy S5’s specs, at $299 unlocked!

Hmm, I was hoping to see a “free” carrier subsidized recommendation, since I’m trying to add someone else to my plan and just want to get them upgraded to some sort of smartphone without spending money upfront.

Silellak

For what it’s worth, I bought my friend’s used Nexus 5 from her for $275 as an upgrade from my HTC One (M7), and even though it’s “old” smartphone-wise, I’m super-thrilled with it so far. I’ve never had an Android device this smooth or consistent, the camera (especially with HDR+) is a decent all-around shooter, and now that I’ve had wirelessly charging, it’s hard to go back. The build quality isn’t as great as the M7, of course, but I still love the feel of it, and I like that the back doesn’t get anywhere near as hot and that it’s not as slippery.

Above all that, though, is the freedom from carrier lock-down that I haven’t enjoyed since I had an iPhone. After dealing with carrier bloatware and constant delays to system updates, it’s hard to understate how great that freedom feels.

RedSky0

I don’t understand why so many phone reviews treat all phone buyers as living paycheck to paycheck. If you can afford to pay $700-$800 (S5) for a smartphone over 24 months, you can save for it with a little bit of money management every 2 years or however often you upgrade. You’ll also save the good $200-300 markup hidden in the phone + plan total. This idea that you should restrict yourself to phones available locally through these ridiculously overpriced and unnecessary plans is obscene. That’s like saying you should restrict yourself to eating food sold at the airport.

When the S4 (~$400-$450) comes in at half the price, I have trouble grasping this review’s attitude of huge performance improvements. The screen resolution is the same. The camera while good was already good at 12MP. The battery life difference is nice but if you’re one of the many working an office job, it will be plugged into the charger anyway. It’s almost identically priced as the Moto X and comes with a higher resolution screen, much better camera and microSD. Again, just because it’s not a ‘current’ phone shouldn’t invalidate it. A site that focusses on providing value recommendations should better acknowledge the huge price difference and not be afraid to recommend last year’s models. They should also call out mobile plans for the pricing sham they are.

Jon

Very good points

Chixofnix

Thanks for the comparison RedSky! I think there’s a worthwhile takeaway here for wirecutter’s writers:

The article as written is isolated in scope/purpose to compare the latest/greatest flagships (as of the time of writing), and is certainly very informative and useful within those boundaries. I think it’s implicit enough, but the “rest of the field…” section could definitely be fleshed more to take a closer look at the past before “what’s ahead.”

In particular, the paragraph dismissing the S4 and anything else older also rubs me the wrong way as well. Making exactly the sort of comparison RedSky is providing would be more useful for budget-minded readers asking themselves whether it’s a good idea to save a buck or not in consideration of readily available, new, and previous-gen hardware. In contrast to the article, the S4 CAN in fact be had “for almost nothing” if purchased on contract these days, but that segues into the more critical point of the false value of subsidized phone contract models.

There exist many excellent articles/infographics already written on the topic (though those with lots of stats get dated quickly), and perhaps a short list of “recommended reading” links for the aspiring educated phone buyer might be included towards the close of future articles as well.

I’d like to see future (seasonal?) phone roundup articles explicitly addressing previous seasons’ top picks, where their off-contract price points sit at (then), and what the relative gains really are considering the associated dollars-premium for “what’s newest.” This assumes the next top picks don’t blow previous picks out of the water with a much lower price point – I suspect/hope the next top picks for a fall flagship will have their MSRP’s influenced by the OPO shenanigans through this summer!

preston

No lg g2???

ShelbyOhio

I agree. I have the LG G2 and I love it. When I first purchased it back in December, I was so afraid to switch from the iPhone but I have been so incredibly pleased with it. The phone, and Android in general, has FAR exceeded any expectations or hopes that I had. AND (as far as I know), LG is on the up and up as a company and deserving of some props for all of their amazing products. I’m looking very forward to checking out the G3 that was just announced!

Nateeee

is it still worth it? the g2 I mean. I am ready for an upgrade and I am on a budget. I still wish to have a great android phone however.

Kudu

“If neither of those appeal to you, either because of their large size, unintuitive interfaces, or high price when unsubsidized, we recommend waiting for Google’s next Nexus phone or the next Moto X, which should be coming out late summer/early fall.”

I think it’s pretty bad advice to ask people to wait for the next Nexus, which may or may not be released, depending on who you listen to, and will most likely be released in 6 months. A site like The Wirecutter should be concerned with the immediate and the near-future, not rumors of new phones at the horizon. On the other hand, the OnePlus One should be generally available in late June, but it isn’t given too much attention in this article…

Nathan Edwards

For God’s sake, I mention the OnePlus One for what it is: a good phone on paper, which isn’t out yet, and has not yet been tested. The Nexus line has been fairly consistent in release schedule, price, and quantity for the past two cycles. I am more comfortable recommending people wait for the next one of those than I am recommending a phone from a brand-new manufacturer, that hasn’t been tested, and is going to be invite-friggin’-only at first.

If the OnePlus One is as great in real life as it sounds, I will adjust my recommendation post haste, but not before then.

Kudu

Fair enough. There are also reviews from Android Authority and TechRadar in addition to Engadget.

Chixofnix

I’m excited myself, but Nathan’s logic is quite sound – for the purposes of a comparative roundup and providing a “right now” recommendation, it’s not a glaring omission to not include a product which isn’t readily available to the readers. He’s conscientiously made mention of it for those “looking ahead,” but the intended audience for this article is clearly someone someone buying a phone “in the now.”

Nobody knows how the phone/cyanogemod 11S will change (for better or worse) as production ramps up to that point, so all the more reason to wait and see. I’m most interested in seeing a review addressing the version of the phone that I myself will be able to buy (outside of a lucky raffle draw).

Kudu

Could you reconsider the OnePlus One? Given that there have been several positive reviews, that it’s coming out this week and that the release of the Nexus 6 looks less and less certain.

Nathan Edwards

I hope to be able to get a review unit next month. I agree that the reviews look quite positive.

Kudu

Alright, thanks. Will OnePlus be sending you a review unit as soon as the production software is out?

TiredOfWaiting

Is it “next week” already?

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Still invite only apparently!

TiredOfWaiting

I would totally prefer to pre-order and simply have a date when it would arrive, even if it was a month or so. They say that pre-order is annoying, but this invite system is way worse.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

I totally agree!

disqus

and if you guys have it, i want to know how the display fare against top flagship like samsung samoled since its probably the only place lacking against flagship (especially under sunlight)

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Will do!

Kudu

Any updates on this? Have you gotten a review unit yet?

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Once a unit is obtained and reviewed it will be added to the guide!

ImaginarySmartphone

THREE MONTHS have passed and you still cannot buy a One Plus One without an invite, hahaha.

What are these guys thinking?

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

They’ve figuratively shot themselves in the foot. I can’t imagine how many people waiting for this pre-ordered (or will buy) the iPhone 6 Plus.

ImaginarySmartphone

First they said that pre-ordering was not a good system and that their “super revolutionaty” invite thing was so much better. And now they will switch from invites to pre-order. So consistent!

ImaginarySmartphone

Kudos for saying “figuratively” and not “literally”! A lot of people fall for that one. =)

TiredOfWaiting

OnePlus One is “coming out this week” since a month ago.

TiredOfBeingTiredOfWaiting

And that was said a month ago!

TiredOfWaiting

Still waiting for “coming out this week”.

Zzzzz…

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

By the time they release it to everyone the buzz will have worn off and the next big thing will already be out. They’re shooting themselves in the foot with this ‘No Homers Club’.

vatdoro

I agree this is probably the overall best Android phone, but I also think it is important to support companies you admire. And more importantly to avoid companies with repulsive business practices. I had heard a couple stories about “ugly” business practices by Samsung, buy had no idea how rampant and complete their corruption was until reading this.

If you really have to have an Android phone, please consider the high quality products form HTC, Motorola/Lenovo, etc before supporting a completely dishonest and repulsive corporation like Samsung.

PaulieG

“If you really have to have an Android phone?” Well, that pretty much infers your true beliefs right there… Apple are as greedy and unethical a company if there ever was one, but what a surprise to see the Americans circling the wagons around there own interests. US Patent Law that allows for patents such as the ’rounded rectangle’ is continuing to issue Apple ridiculous patents for things they should never be allowed to legally claim as their own.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

You should read our guide above.

Discoveryellow

I second that. Apple isn’t particularly admirable when it comes to ruthless practices in supply chains, profit extraction and market domination gate keeping.

“The OnePlus One looks really cool, with similar size and specs to the Galaxy S5, and a $300 price tag. It will run CyanogenMod 11S, an Android spinoff, and run on AT&T and T-Mobile’s LTE networks. The catch? It isn’t out yet and demo units aren’t fully baked, so we don’t know how good it is, and you’ll need an invite to order one when they do come out.”

Jon

Very informative review, thanks! I have an olddd Galaxy S2 that I rooted with Cyanogenmod 11 (a 4.4.2 one) but still the hardware is really getting outdated. Think I’ll go with the new Moto X or Nexus this fall

The oppos are way better than samsungs. Can’t believe the 7 and 7a didn’t even get a mention

Allan

I’d be curious to hear how the author thinks the HTC One M7 stacks up against the Galaxy S5, especially considering the cost savings, not to mention the HTC comes in a snazzy metallic blue!. It’s only $1 now at Best Buy with a 2 year contract (AT&T or Sprint; the phone is $49.99 with Verizon).

Kudu

Have you considered the LG G2 as an unlocked option? It’s practically the same price as the Nexus 5 on Amazon and eBay, and has similar specs, but with a much better camera, screen and battery.

Underestimate Smartphone fix screen at your peril. Given that its influence pervades our society, its influence on western cinema has not been given proper recognition. It is an unfortunate consequence of our civilizations history that Smartphone fix screen is rarely given rational consideration by those most reliant on technology, who are yet to grow accustomed to its disombobulating nature

Discoveryellow

Worth pointing out that MetroPCS (acquired by T-Mobile, the network the had always been running on) has the best unlocked plans in the USA. $40 flat. It’s what gets deducted from you every month.

SteveZ

Seriously??
Such a poorly designed and greatly bloated thing is the best Android phone?
Good for Android!

http://usahakecilku.com/ usahakecil

more importantly to avoid companies with repulsive business practices. I had heard a couple stories about “ugly” business practices by Samsung before peluang usaha 2014 tanpa modal , but I had no idea how rampant and complete their corruption was until reading this.

http://ellismc.wordpress.com/ mce

I know you had a lot of positive things to say about the LG G3 in the ‘What to look forward to’ section, but I’m looking forward to the update. I’ve had this phone for a few weeks and it’s pretty much perfect, unless they make a battery that either charges in seconds or lasts weeks. I can’t imagine recommending the Samsung over it in any way except waterproofing, which would seem an odd way to choose a phone.

Nathan Edwards

I’ll be getting a G3 in and will update the piece soon!

Karla

Thanks for the thorough and well-organized review! I’m on Virgin Mobile and the S5 is out of my price range and they don’t seem to support Nexus or Moto phones. They’re running specials on HTC Desire and Samsung S3, but I’m seeing some persistent problems in reviews. I’m considering the refurb iPhone 4s and wonder whether anyone has recommendations for VM around $250?

sarab singh

Some noticeable omissions: Oppo Find & (QHD), LG G3 & OnePlus One. Given the fact that that market is dominated by the likes of Samsung,LG etc., the entry of brands like Oppo & Oneplus which offer great specs at amazing prices, is a welcome step which would rejuvenate the market and eventually benefit consumers like us.

DP

Sorry, had both… The LG G3 wins by a mile.. and the battery lasted longer.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

That is your opinion

DP

Yep, not sure who else’s it would be… Just like the article is the reviewer’s opinion.

My further opinion, as someone is who has owned the S5, Nexus 5, Oppo Find and used a OnePlus One.. is that the LG G3 is the best of the bunch in the mix of categories that matter to me. Camera, Battery, Speed, UI and Build Quality.

otikik

I wish there was a section here for for smaller android phones – 4.5 inches or less. I want a phone, not a surf table.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Unfortunately, that seems to be the trend with flagship Android (and now Apple) smartphones these days. I know you can pick up a few different Android phone variations that are 4.5 inches, but they’re the cheaper models with less features. I think the original Moto X might the the smallest+best Android smartphone for your needs, with its screen weighing in at 4.7 inches.

BTW- I’m totally with you. I cannot stand big phones. Might be snagging a Gen 1 Moto X before they up & disappear.

doudigdoug

Any other recommendations for best android phone if I refuse to go above 4.3″ screen size? I currently have the RAZR M (chosen in part based on screen size) and get so frustrated that the flagships aren’t offered in a smaller size either at all or with out significant hits to the hardware. I don’t watch videos on my phone – I have a tablet / laptop / TV for that – and hate the idea of carrying around the (now standard) larger phones in my pocket. I was almost ready to jump ship to an iPhone and now the iPhone 6 jumped on the big phone bandwagon…

by the way, is there a section of vr headset recommendation? like oculus rift, gear vr,durovis dive. i personally tried cheap google cardboard and although not perfect its quite good.i know its still not perfect, but would be nice if wire tried them at least

PatVanBrunt

It’s probably too early for that. Not enough consumer products have been released.

disqus

though you cant deny it will take part of smartphone more

like 4k display on smartphone is actually necessary for VR so 4k is necessary now. for me at least, its better than smartwatches

Nick Jennings

Although you suggest the S5 I have to strongly disagree. Table specs are nothing. Real world usage is all that matters. My wife has the M8 and it blows the S5 away. The touchwiz requires more power to run thus needing all that high hardware. The screen is nice on it and the camera is nice on the S5 as well. I agree that the M8 is a bit big for a one handed use and thus I didn’t get that one. I have the HTC One Remix. I chose the Remix over the Samsung mini because of touchwiz. I don’t like the lag i got on an in store model of Samsung. Table specs are there but real world usage (which is what matters most) is not for the S5. Sorry sammy fanboys, try again.

Chris_irish

Any update for the new Moto X yet? I’m ready to upgrade my gs3 and that’s the one I’ve been eyeballing, would love to hear more about it first.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

We’re still looking, but it should be right around the corner!

Chris_irish

Oh well, too late now. I finally made up my mind that an unlocked phone is just better, and once you’ve made that decision it seems like a complete waste of money (in my eyes at least) to buy anything other than the Oneplus One. Don’t know why people are still calling it “almost impossible to get” when most of the folks getting invites are selling them on ebay. Bought my invite for $10, ordered the phone ten minutes later…

Nexus 5 vs Xperia Z1 Compact

I was really considering the Nexus 5, but battery life concerns me. I was also looking at the Xperia Z1 Compact, which seems around the same price range. Any quick thoughts you could provide? Thanks!

Nathan Edwards

In both cases I’d wait. There’s about to be a new Nexus phone (probably announced this week) and the Z3 Compact just went up on Sony’s site, though it’s a little more expensive at $530.

Jeremy Savage

any update on the updated article?

nutmac

I guess with Google announcement this week, it would be too early to draw new recommendation. But are you also considering Sony Xperia Z3 and Z3 Compact?

Nathan Edwards

Yes, we are. I have requested review units from Sony and am keeping an eye on other peoples’ reviews as well.

This is handily the best Android phone overview I have yet to read. Have you considered rolling your iPhone coverage in with it?

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Rolling it in how? Like comparing all the Android devices to the iPhone in one guide?

Jon

Not comparing. IOS vs Android is mostly personal preference and this guide is pretty slick and even handed about personal preference, why not use this format and include the iPhone?

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

I really don’t understand. Like starting with the iPhone 5/5S and labeling ‘budget, size, power’ etc?

Chris_irish

I think what he’s saying is this guide shold be “The Best Phones, Fall 2014″, and include the androids and iphone in one guide. This is a really well written guide, and you’ve already done a great job breaking everything down by preference, it seems silly to keep them seperate now when the differences really boil down to preference.

Jon

Chris nailed it.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

That’s the first thing I said! Comparing all the Android phones to the iPhone was poor wording, but essentially everything in one place is what I meant.

Jon

Got it. Sorry about the confusion!

Navnit

No second though on this, I was wondering till today why new MotoX is missing this spot

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

No more wondering!

Kousha

I believe the Nexus 5 doesn’t work on Verizon.

Nathan Edwards

Whoops, that was supposed to read “AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, but not Verizon” instead of “AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.” Good catch. I’ve fixed it.

bmaz

Why are you using the image for the original Moto X?

Nathan Edwards

Whoops, looks like we forgot to update that widget from the last version of the article. Good catch.

ohnettaverti

FYI, the “Universal 4G LTE model” of the Moto G (2013) also has a microSD card slot. It also has a gyroscope sensor built in, which the original (non-4G) model doesn’t. Still only 8GB of built-in storage, though you can move apps to SD.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Thanks for the note!

echomrg

i own a nexus 5 and i can’t really recommend it due to its unacceptably low battery performance. i can’t get more than 2 hours of screen on time and the battery is depleted in with 12 hours or moderate use (browsing/messaging, no games, no gps navigation, no video or music playing).

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Have you considered checking to see what is drawing all the power and remedy this? My former co-worker hasn’t had any battery issues. He plays Clash of Clans between appointments and emails, texts and even talks on it.

echomrg

hi Tony, i tried everything i could find to understand if and why the phone was drawing too much power but couldn’t find anything wrong. Screen is usually the biggest culprit (even if i keep it on 30% brightness) followed by the Kernel and Android System processess.

I contacted Google support, went through everything they suggested (except the foolish “turn on airplane mode when you’re not using it” idea) and, in the end, they stated that a 50% draw in 6 hours was optimal.

smileman

I concur. The N5 is great value for money in terms of the spec but it won’t last a full day if you’re a above average-heavy user.

XperiaZ3compact

I am hoping to pull the trigger on buying the Z3 compact as soon as your review comes in for it. So I wait eagerly!

I also wanted to mention in the middle of the article you write “The Z3 Compact is available directly from Sony for $530…,” but towards the end it states “The Verge thinks the Z3 Compact is the real star…The one problem with Sony’s phones is that they’re usually only available unlocked in the US for the approximately full $600 price.”

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Thx!

XperiaZ3compact

Yup, looks like it was edited.

smileman

I own the Z3 Compact and it’s a stellar phone overall. Highly recommended.

It has so much battery life that I actually removed the battery icon from the menu bar. No more having to constantly turn WiFi/Bluetooth on and off.

I was a little worried coming from the Nexus 5 about a smaller screen and less PPI, but it’s a great screen and I’m not missing my N5.

My only niggle, and I suppose this is inevitable with trying to pack so much into a relatively small package, is the phone gets hot when the screen is on for an extended period of time. However, the same thing would happen with the Nexus 5 and 4. I wanna say the iPhone is the only device that I’ve used that has stayed cool under duress, maybe due to metal build and lower power components? So perhaps the HTC One keeps cool as well?

Other than that Sony has a winner here, especially given the other options in this size/performance. Nice to see Sony competing in this space.

XperiaZ3compact

Thanks for the comments!

XperiaZ3compact

Actually, I had a follow up question. Could you please tell me what case you have for the Z3c? I don’t see too many options on amazon. A few that intrigued me below:

My brother, who also has the Z3C, ordered that Ringke case and he said it’s”it’s really flimsy and scratches easily getting rid of the nice look of the z3C”.

I’m not familiar with the first case you linked to.

I personally don’t use a case but my wife does and she has the Nillkin Super Frosted Shield Cover Case. Both of us think this is a great case, but one trick with it is that it doesn’t work with the Sony magnetic charging dock nor many of the magnetic adapters (e.g., the Magnector).

I’m hoping that something with a vertical rather than horizontal micro USB socket like this will work with the Nillkin:

Two other Z3C cases I’ve read good things about are Case-Mate’s Barely There and the Cruzerlite Bugdroid. However, the Bugdroid blocks the mag charging port. The Barely There is supposed to work with popular magnetic adapters like the Magnector, but it’s backordered right now. It also sounds like it provides less protection than something like the Bugdroid or Nillkin.

barkingburro

Normally, I consider The Wirecutter to be about the only consumer review site that does a decent job of identifying and prioritizing the salient characteristics that really matter in a product and giving excellent, nuanced reviews. But I think you phoned it in this time (pun intended). My personal favorite phone is the HTC One M8. Although you can’t have everyone’s favorite pick come out on top, I was disappointed that you seemed to give more weight to some criteria that don’t matter, like size (hello? people are buying mega-sized phones these days), downplayed criteria you personally didn’t care about but which matter greatly to others, like the SD card, and ignored criteria which matter not only to me, but which I’ve seen discussed by some of the other reviewers:

1) Call transmission, reception, microphone quality — the M8 is terrific here, while some phones actually fare much worse, but you don’t seem to even mention this as a factor to judge phones by

2) Sound quality of M8 — no other phone comes close, either in the speakers or audio and headphone amp circuitry

3) Display quality — phones differ a lot in terms of color accuracy, brightness, and readability in sunlight; and it is a very important factor to most people, so why are you unconcerned about such differences?

Finally, you got it 100% wrong when comparing the speed and performance of the Galaxy S5 to other phones, particularly the M8. Other reviewers know that specs don’t tell the truth about performance. When they used the S5, they found it laggy.

Normally, I expect The Wirecutter to always be on top when it comes to discerning reviews. Please take a look at where you differed from other phone reviewers and consider that your standards may have fallen a bit short. Other reviewers did a better job than you this time, but I know you can do better still. I expect it!

https://twitter.com/mhzhao Michael Zhao

Thank you for your kind words, but I would like to correct some of your statements regarding what we did and did not consider in this review.

1) I haven’t found any reports that unequivocally say the M8 has better reception. Anecdotally, a lot of forum users say the S5 has better LTE reception and there’s benchmarks showing it has superior Wi-Fi thanks to its dual-band radio. Also, plastic is RF transparent whereas metal is not. Call quality is important to many people, but is also outweighed by overall usability for most. If you make a lot of calls, you will be better served by a headset.

2) We address this in the guide and say that if this is more important to you, the M8 is a better choice.

The M8 and S5 both have good displays. The S5 has more accurate whites, but inferior brightness, which in turn is somewhat mitigated by vastly superior contrast thanks to its AMOLED based display. It has better overall color accuracy, but inferior saturation levels. It’s not as simple as you make it appear.

Finally, “100% wrong” on speed is an overstatement. Some reviewers say one thing, others say another. To take sides is to cherry pick one argument and ignore the other, which we don’t do.

barkingburro

Michael, thanks for your considered response.

Regarding my point concerning displays, I didn’t mean to imply that the M8 was superior, just that I wanted it to be easier to find out how phone displays differed from reading the wirecutter review. Your link has awesome info in that regard–thanks!

And concerning my comment about getting responsiveness 100% wrong. I appreciate that you can’t cherry-pick, but several reviewers’ anecdotal evidence of lagging response on the Samsung phone seemed not only significant, but directly contradicting your statement that there was no significant difference [paraphrasing]. So I stand by my assessment that your statement is 100% wrong. Several reviewers found it significant to the point of being an annoyance.

Thanks again for your response!

stx4

Shocking, this is the first review I have disagreed with from this site. The LG G3 blows most of these phones away, no bigger than most 5″ screen phones you get ultra high res. 5.5″ screen with expandable memory and swappable battery.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Everyone has their own opinion on which Android handset is best. Where the G3 succeeds, the GS5 fails, and where the Nexus 5 fails, the G3 succeeds. This says it best –

I agree with Segan and Ion (except about the battery life, which was very inconsistent on my T-Mobile review unit). It’s a great phone, but there are lots of great phones now. I’d rather have the Galaxy S5’s water resistance, the Moto X’s software and build quality, or the OnePlus One’s price, and they all have better battery life than the LG G3. But it’s not a bad phone, and if you’ve gotta have the screen, get it. It’s $200 on contract on Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T, and $600 off-contract at T-Mobile.

JoeTheMusician

Well… with the official Droid Turbo launch today I will be watching for updated information on that phone. It looks like a good phone, besting the Moto X in many areas (not style, but certainly specs) though the recent increase in “on contract” plans (from $60 to $75/month for the Unlimited voice/text and 2 GB data plan) hurts.

nutmac

I think this phone category page has become very difficult to digest and follow. Perhaps it should be broken into further sub categories, or at the very least, an index anchor links at the top.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

What do you find difficult? And what sub-categories? Like ‘if you want this’ or ‘if you want this’? Not being snarky, very serious.

However, I think the main point of the current format is for people to read it in its entirety, to get a complete understanding of all the best android handsets out there, and what they offer vs what other similar handsets offer. Everything is clearly labeled, just requires reading

nutmac

This page has grown so gigantic that it is difficult to digest desired information. This is true of many other giant reviews on TheWireCutter.

Let’s take your “Best Cheap Phone” for instance. It is relatively easy to see “Moto G” as the recommendation, but perusing alternatives in this category requires reading the entire “Competitions” section.

At the very minimum, I would prefer Table of Contents (1) match the text of each sub section, (2) located closer to the top instead of being buried within the article, and (3) expanded so that I can more easily find each phone reviewed.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Noted!

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Wait, we have a table of contents? At the top?

smileman

Regarding the Sony Z3, “The one cool thing Verizon adds is wireless charging, which Gizmodo points out could help prevent wear and tear on the charge port covers.”

The regular Z3 and Z3 Compact also feature wireless charging through the magnetic charge port. While not the same as Qi charging on the Z3v it’s still wireless and means you don’t have to access the port cover. Plus I believe the Sony magnetic dock is less expensive than a lot of Qi chargers.

Jacob Long

The only one that I would replace my HTC One M7 with, if I had to change, would be the M8 at this point. I wouldn’t get the gunmetal color on the M8 though.

I’m so close to liking the Moto X 2014, but one of its old strengths was battery life and I’m not seeing it here. I’m never going to mess with Samsung’s software ever again, at least not on a phone, so it’s out. Between the fact that I don’t care much about a 4k display and I’m no fan of the software customizations, the LG G2 doesn’t feel like much of an upgrade and would likely just bring more headaches.

The Nexus 6 is tempting…the nice minimalist design of Motorola, a herculean battery, and balls-to-the-wall specs. I fear that it’s just too big, though. I’m a ROM flasher and such, I love running the newest version of Android, so that’s a big plus. It should have a great price point on contract as well. Disregarding size, the phone has no weaknesses in my opinion. But I can’t disregard it. I’ll certainly try to play with one in person when the time comes, but I’m not jumping for it just yet.

I’m also pleased enough with my M7 that I’m not losing my mind going after an M8 either, but if I had to get something new, I’d go M8. It marginally improves on everything I like about the M7. Some new software features, a little bigger screen, a little better battery, the same beautiful software.

8on

For all the things in this article about the “critics choice” second gen moto x… why is the wirecutter’s favorite phone the iPhone 6? It even says “I’m personally interested in spending my money on it”. Why not just have a single phone buyer guide “Best Smart Phones” and have them all clumped in one article. So instead of someone seeing two guides and needing to read both, or entirely ignoring the second article, you have one guide that covers everything.

Every other device on the wirecutter is reviewed this way. “Why we chose this projector over the competition”. “A good alternative” etc. The rest of the site is very well written and pretty unbiased. I understand there is much fuel to a fire regarding smartphones, but I feel like this particular section is oddly biased.

Another thing that was missed in regards to iPhone to Android comparison is the size of the devices. The iPhone 6 has a 4.7 inch display, but is roughly the same size as the moto X 2nd gen with its 5.2 inch display. In comparison to the iPhone 6 plus with a 5.5 inch display and a massive 6.22 inch height (.3 inches larger screen, .7 inches larger device). In contrast the galaxy note 4 is .2 inches shorter than the 6+ but has a .2 inches larger screen (in addition to having a greater resolution and higher pixel density). Because the iPhone 6’s screen to body ratio is roughly 65% (or 68% for the 6+) meaning a larger portion of the phone is bezel. In general android devices are smaller even though they have a larger screen. For example, the z3 compact is 5 inches tall but has a 4.6 inch display. Where the iPhone 5s (last years favorite) is 4.87 inches tall and has a 4 inch display.

In time the bezel on the android devices will be enough to fit only the top and bottom speaker / mic and the rest will be screen, and unless Apple changes their design language, I see this as being a potential problem in their future.

But the point to my writing was mostly to highlight the folly in paying attention only to screen size and not actual phone dimensions.

8on

On a somewhat related note… the tablet guide says wait on best android tablet, but not on best tablet… what if the nexus 9 is preferred over the iPad Air 2?

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

As of now, the iPad Air 2 is our pick for best overall tablet.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Main point, some people will always want Android phones and some will always want iOS phones. Secondary point, the iPhone 6 is the best smartphone for most people. Period.

Artur

There are also people that like Windows Phone devices!!!! You guys should see that its a really fierce battle between ios and windows phone regarding the smartphone market share! Please start including windows phone devices in forums, blogs, posts. Especially the lumia 1520 is such a great phone. It is in the market for more than 2 years and its specs are still very up-to-date. Microsoft has also been doing an excellent job in providing the developers a better way to create their apps. And I love the windows phone interface…. cortana… integration with office… onedrive
I don’t know why you guys haven’t done any thing regarding this awesome OS.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Nothing against WP, we just haven’t done a guide. It’s likely not going to beat out iOS or Android in any “Best for most people” situations, but maybe in the future a WP guide will be done.

Artur

WP is gaining market share (except in the US). Please do a WP guide and have it done. Especially since windows 10 is coming out in spring

Raffaele D’Abrusco

Its, not it’s. Can’t you get it right, can you?

Nathan Edwards

Thanks for the helpful feedback. Since you didn’t point out which of the many instances of “its” or “it’s” you were referring to, I went back and checked them all, and in every case I could see “its” is used as a possessive, and “it’s” as a contraction.

If you’re going to be a pedant, at least be a useful one.

Raffaele D’Abrusco

Attaboy.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Also, your name is actually spelled Raffaele d’Ambrosio. The way you spell it, its wrong.

Raffaele D’Abrusco

Really? You think you know my name better than I do? Sure, sure…

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Yes, yes Mr. d’Abscuario!

Raffaele D’Abrusco

You’re a real funny boy. Your talent is wasted on Disqus.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Mr. d’Andreesen, you are my same name. That is neat.

Brian

Picked up the Moto X 2014 on VZW. Great phone with a major issue: VoLTE is currently not supported. So i’m constantly in situations where i’m on the phone and can’t access maps, emails, etc. Feels like a giant leap backwards. This should really be flagged in the article. VoLTE support is allegedly “coming soon” but who knows what that means. And I don’t completely understand once it is supported whether my phone will still run into issues now and then given that support for older voice networks doesn’t exist in the phone (not to my understanding, anyway.)

smileman

You need to make correction to this comment on the Z3 Compact: “It doesn’t use a slower CPU (like the HTC One Mini 2), less RAM, or a worse camera than the Z3″

In fact the Z3 Compact does have have less RAM (2GB) compared to the larger Z3 (3GB).

Having said that, 2-months on I love the Z3 Compact. It’s well built and has survived a few drops without any material damage. Nice to see Sony back in the game.

Rukesh Reddy

Dear Wirecutter, please help! I need help escalating a wireless carrier issue. Didn’t know where else to write in so here goes. I bought an HTC One M8 via Verizon ~2 months back. The phone data never works for more than a day or two. Voice always works, but data never works. It says 4G / LTE on the top but in settings the mobile data says ‘disconnected’. After hours of tech support and some major reboots etc, it might work for a day and then boom, back to no internet. Seen the problem recur in 3 different states so its not a location issue. Antennae bar is usually full, and in fact a Verizon iPhone sitting next to it has full data always. Tech support has even replaced the instrument (once) and the SIM card (twice). Nothing works. Perhaps something is wrong in the way the Verizon network interfaces with the HTC phone. Maybe its something else, but after dozens of hour long chats with tech support, right now I simply don’t care for a solution (fearing that the solution wont be permanent, the issue will just pops back up in a day or two). I am just looking for a way out of this contract where I pay each month for effectively *zero* service. If/once I am released from this hellhole, I will just go get another carrier and instrument. But Verizon has a blase, don’t-give-a-damn attitude towards resolution. And no internal/external complaint mechanism they are willing to point me to. Can you help me escalate this? Will complaining to FCC / any other authority help get out of this frustrating situation? Thanks!

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Bring it into a brick and mortar Verizon store and demand to speak with the manager. Tell them due to the issue if they can’t fix it you want them to swap out or you’ll take your business to T-Mobile who will pay for your ealy termination of Verizon’s contract.

Eddy

While it lacks the style and charm of the 2014 Moto X, the Droid Turbo is a powerhouse that manages to outperform its relative in nearly every way that matters. Sadly, it’s a Verizon exclusive so the rest of you (unless you live in Brazil and Mexico and buy a Moto Maxx) need not apply.

TribuneOther

Any thoughts on Dual Sim phones? I am in the circumstance of potentially wanting an inexpensive unlocked dual sim Android phone in Canada. Amazon results show a number by companies I have never heard of ( e.g. BLU – a Miami based company targeting Latin America – accounting to wikipedia) and expensive ones from names I have heard before.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Unfortunately that’s a very niche market and we don’t have any recommendations. Sorry!

TribuneOther

Thank you anyway. This review helps in parts of what I am looking for. Despite a dual some being the ideal solution I may well end up going with a partial solution – budget android.

disqus

i guess at 299-349$ unlocked no contract, nothing beats oneplus?
or perhaps it will change soon, since 64bit phone seems gonna coming out?

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

You can find a Moto X unlocked for a decent price, but our unlocked pick is the Nexus 5. Base model starts at $350 on Amazon & Google Play Store

Just sold my Nexus 5 for a good price and ordered a OnePlus One! It’s an incredible upgrade for the price. The build quality is unbelievable for the price. It shipped with Kitkat though and the OTA updates came soon after. Now running CM12 (lollipop based rom). It’s snappy and exotic in the world of Samsungs and iPhones. I feel like I’m getting the best deal ever in my mobile life…paying $40/month for service on Tmobile with all Uncarrier perks!

I looked around for the best unlocked deal under $400. Nothing compared. There were a few unlocked LG G3s but carrier branded. Those carrier branded phones annoy me (locked out features/bloatware/noisy boot animations) and I don’t feel like messing with rooting/flashing roms.
Moto X 2nd gen was next candidate but it was more expensive, had less storage, small battery and worse camera performance.

kevhong

The G3 is the most intriguing Android flagship LG has ever offered, slotting perfectly into the space between the Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8 and ensuring that the company’s days as a punchline are most definitely behind it.

SickSix

I’m just sitting here with my Xperia Z Ultra, enjoying a tablet that fits in my pocket as well as allowing me to make calls.

Will we get an update with more on the Droid Turbo and G Flex 2 before the new flagships are announced next week? Any sense of when Wirecutter take on those new flagships will be up?

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

We’ll likely update in spring.

Sam Nada

I often see whining like this about the SW “bloat” on Samsung phones, and it’s just stupid. It’s trivial to add a launcher like Nova and customize the UI however you want. The only time you’ll even see the extra app icons is in the app drawer, which is almost never. Just disable the unused whiz bang stuff, and never use the extra apps. It’s a pathetic complaint about very good phones, and it deserves zero emphasis.

Danny Cotton

But the bloat is still there, taking up space on your phone. Look at how much free space there is on a fresh phone. Touchwiz on Samsung phones takes up a decent amount of storage space. Plus you have the bloat in the menus, notification/toggles, etc. It’s not just about added apps.

Sam Nada

Exactly how much space is being used by useless apps installed by Samsung? I assume by “bloat in the menus” you mean System Settings. I prefer many of the added features over standard Android, and the rest are easily ignored. Once set up I spend little if any time in the System Settings. Notifications? Like what? You can select the specific toggles you want to show up in the notification window. I’ve seen nothing that warrants all the hand wringing I see posted about this issue.

Danny Cotton

Last I looked, it was at least a couple gigs larger than the stock ROM. I’m just telling you what people mean when they talk about bloat, and why just using a different launcher doesn’t solve everything. Yeah, for settings, toggles, notification, etc. there is just more stuff everywhere. It’s bloat by definition of the word. Whether it bothers you or not I don’t care, just explaining what people are talking about.

Sam Nada

Yeah, I know what they’re talking about, but to me it often comes across as making mountains out of nits. Once you have the phone set up 99% of what you see is the launcher and apps you’ve selected. Extra stuff on the Settings menu or in the app drawer becomes really irrelevant to daily use. Android is so customizable that dismissing a phone on that basis just seems silly to me. But then I don’t care what material the back is made of since I use a case, which is another MAJOR bone of contention with the techie OCD folks. To each his own.

balance

For now, the only tech thing on my mind I care about, for now only, is good quality cases for the OnePlus One. Too may case manufactures are not realizing they are dropping the ball. I can say this after months of research of phone cases. There’s a tone on Amazon & others found elsewhere, but nothing I truly will trust yet, and truly hate to give in, even to get a temporary case I have in mind, just to hold me from any unfortunate mishaps, and hopefully none, and I’m very good with no mishaps on all my previous phones to date, but I’m human!

balance

Also, let me add that the OnePlus One is now available every Tuesday for the entire day each week to the general public! This even make more of a reason for TRULY good quality cases to flourish! I sure hope the case manufacturers are reading this since they really are missing out. Tired of trying to decide on all the multiple assortment available, with something always making it appear to stay away.

http://www.retorch.com/ Jason Beck

While I had a OnePlus One, I had and absolutely LOVED the Diztronic Full Matte Blue Flexible TPU Case for OnePlus One. It’s probably “not for everyone” – I only wanted to protect against minor scratches and issues – a huge drop might still kill your phone. While I drop my Moto G with it’s rigid Ringke Slim case from time to time, I never dropped the OPO.

I loved the case because it was a perfect fit and so very slim that the phone remained feeling as svelte as ever. Now that I’ve got my eye on a Nexus 6, I’m so excited that the same case is available (and very highly rated on Amazon!)

benjaminfraser

Did you actually read the review ?

He stated that the edge’s brightness couldn’t be adjusted to 200nits like the regular S6, so the edge was tested at 180 nits.

Just a note that the One Plus One is no longer invite only. They’ve opened their doors. Not sure if that changes your rating but it was the only criticism (besides size) that you levelled at it.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

We’re aware

We’re working on an update that will mention this, as well as a full-fledged Android phone guide.

Laird Le

Just sold my Nexus 5 for a good price and ordered a OnePlus One! It’s an incredible upgrade for the price. The build quality is unbelievable for the price. It shipped with Kitkat though and the OTA updates came soon after. Now running CM12 (lollipop based rom). It’s snappy and exotic in the world of Samsungs and iPhones. I feel like I’m getting the best deal ever in my mobile life…paying $40/month for service on Tmobile with all Uncarrier perks!

What about the LG G2 for good cheap phone. You can get unlocked new on Ebay for $200. It may be older but it still had good specs and camera.

Nathan Edwards

If you’re interested in it, I won’t tell you not to get it. But it’s already two generations out of date, so it won’t get many more OS updates (if any).

Kinu Grove

I think it got lollipop update before the LG G3. I would not expect it to get much after that but if being on the latest software was important I would go S6 or Iphone 6. Just posted so people know that it is is still one to look at as it has held up well.

How can it be better than the S5 when is has a built in battery and no sd card slot?

alarmclocktothestars

Reading, it’s hard, I know.

http://batman-news.com Paul

I can read and I would like someone to explain to me how this can be the best “Android” phone when it misses the first 2 tick boxes for owning an Android product?
They even say it in the review and then try to justify not having these options however if you do not want them you would have bought an IPhone. It makes a £240 difference to the contract to have the 128GB version when I can add that in storage alone for the cost of a £65 card.
This should be my third Galaxy however I am thinking about keeping my S4 or going to the S5 as the deals are so good thanks to the release of the S6.
In a really strange world, I might wait for the Windows 10 phones to come out and go there.

Brent

They’re the first two tick boxes for you. Not for everybody. I just retired my S3 for an S6, and the battery and SD card slot were not significant concerns for me.

Those are the next ones for me.
Battery life is why I want a removable battery because a swap with a spare or my partner’s is so easy.
Qi charging is not on the list however it is becoming of interest.
Camera is why i think the S5 or Note 4 might win the upgrade battle.

alarmclocktothestars

Literally everything else. EVERYTHING else. The damn color of the phone is orders of magnitude more important than a removable battery for the VAST majority of people.

Paul

And what is the best selling mobile phone on the market today…. a white IPhone!

alarmclocktothestars

Uh… thanks? You do realize you’re helping to make my point, right?

http://batman-news.com Paul

No I was making mine, if you go down the list of features, best phone on the market is the IPhone unless you want a removeable battery and a SD Card slot.
You can get the S2 and S4 in a vast choice of colours because they sold a lot which the S6 is not doing because it falls down on these 2 tick boxes. It is a massive mistake by Samsung and I think Sony are going to get my money this time. 640XL has next to no memory and that is the only Windows phone I would buy.

alarmclocktothestars

Right. Which the majority of people don’t want. Because the best selling phone (as you said) is an iPhone. So again, you’re making my point (that the majority of people don’t care about removable batteries / expandable storage) for me. So, thanks… again.

http://batman-news.com Paul

No, my point that the second best selling phones to the revelant IPhone have had my tick boxes because why else where people buying them?
If I had Brent’s tick boxes I would have an Iphone ie the point of the above review is basically buy an IPhone.
The best alternative to an IPhone needs to be as good and have features that the IPhone does not have ie an SD card slot and a removable battery.
If you want an S6 wait a couple of months they already have warehouses full of them because it is not selling so the offers should be brillant just do not expect to be able to buy things to fit it.

I’m with you. Anything too taking bad ideas from apple is something I’ll stay away from. I’ve only owned Samsung phones currently a Note 4. I wouldn’t want a phone that can’t change the battery/can’t add an SD card. Those are exactly the first two tick boxes for owning an android for me.

alarmclocktothestars

Yeah, it’s a horrible idea to take ideas from the best selling phone in the history of the planet. Especially hardware ones. Awful idea.

Paul

Which is not the IPhone, the best selling phone in the history would be the Nokia candy bar.
First rule of business, what can I do different to my competition? Samsung offered SD slot and removable battery and sold more Android phones than anyone else.

alarmclocktothestars

If you think that’s why Samsung sold more, well, then we should stop this conversation now. Especially since EVERY Android phone at the time had it. You can’t really be this dumb, right? Right? Please god, right?

Chris Koyl

You can live in the cage, that’s not something I want to do.

alarmclocktothestars

You’re so dramatic. I bet you have lots of friends. And that you never wear any black. Also, definitely no neckbeard on you.

alarmclocktothestars

I guess very few of the flagship Android phones are actually Android phones, then. At least in your twisted mind. If a removable battery and extra storage are truly the first two points to consider when getting a phone (here’s a hint, they’re not), then the Android ecosystem is in a lot trouble (another hint, it’s not).

Enjoy Windows phone, I guess. Let’s just be kind and say that your needs don’t match most the needs of most consumers.

Paul

All of the flagship Android phones tick my first 2 boxes before this. I have owned 2 of the best Android phones ever made, the S2 first non-apple phone to knock an IPhone out of the top slot in PC Pro’s A List and the S4 which also knocked the then current IPhone out of that slot and sold 40 million and was still out sold over 3 to one by the IPhone.
If my needs matched the needs of the most consumers I would own an IPhone!

Ken Esq

I’ve had SD slots and removable batteries and never used them. Besides Android’s support of SD cards is so poor…it’s almost not worth the effort of installing one.

Paul

What phones? Never had a problem with either the S2 or S4 and quality cards.

Ken Esq

It’s not the phones, but Android itself. First they took away storing apps there, then there are limitations on what can write/delete from a card. Basically, you can use them for storing media. I can understand that might be important to some, but that number is dwindling.
What I wish the phone manufacturers would focus on is battery life. Motorola kind of got it right with the Droid Turbo (unfortunately, Verizon only). 3,000 mah batteries should be the minimum.

Paul

That one of the big reasons why I want the card, had to do a major cull recently to upgrade and that is with all of my media on the card.

Cathy Mullican

I can store most apps on the SD card on my S4, though some developers haven’t enabled that — and it is the developers’ decision, at least to some extent; one of my cousins released a game initially without that, but added it when I asked him to.

I’m certainly glad of the removable battery in the S4, though — my charge port died in early April; my contract is up at the end of June. I picked up a cheap phone with a broken screen on eBay (which had a battery), and use it to charge one battery while I use my phone, then swap them out when the one in my phone is low.

Chris Johnson

After reading the article, I’m still not sure what to get.

I want a screen that’s 5 to 6 inches and would like to spend less than $300 off contract (I am willing to buy used and sell my previous Lumia 630 to off set the cost). As an AT&T user coming from having owned 4 different Windows Phones (HTC Surround, Lumia 900, 520 and now 630) I was actually happy with all of them. The only reason I’m willing to spend a little more now and switch to Android, is that I want both something different, and simply more options (mostly games and apps).

If I stay with Windows Phone, I’ll be getting the Lumia 640 XL in a few months. If I switch to Android, the Zenfone 2 looks promising, as does the OnePlus One. The Nexus 6 looks very nice (there are a few on my local Craigslist asking $425) but I owned a Nexus 10 a few years ago and was always disappointed with the battery life and time it took to charge.

TL;DR, I need the Wirecutter’s Best Android Phone off contract for about $300.

CJ

Most unlocked phones around that price are definitely not going to be flagships, and generally will be lower quality, and often smaller. That being said, one of the best options in that price range is probably the OnePlus One. It has surprisingly good components for the cost, a 5.5″ screen, and only costs $250 now. Alternatively, if you can wait a month or two. The same company is supposedly releasing the OnePlus Two pretty soon, with updated specs (although little is known about it right now).

cronson

The Idol 3 and OnePlus One were the other two phones I was strongly considering. I ended up getting the 64gb Asus Zenfone 2 ($300 on Amazon Prime, plus knowing they honor the warranty, it even arrived in 1 day).

So far I love this phone. Very snappy and responsive. Immediately I noticed viewing web pages on my lower end Lumia 630 versus my new Zenfone is strikingly different. This looks much more like a laptop or desktop experience (Gifs actually playback!). There is a lot of bloatware on the phone though I’m showing close to 60gb of free space, so maybe not an issue. Otherwise this feels like my Android tablet: lots of options/ways to customize.

I’ll still defend the windows phone OS for it’s ability to just simply work though. As soon as the AT&T guy got my new phone running text messages started flooding in. On windows phone it can detect group text automatically. With Android I had to switch over to Hangouts for my messaging app. This is a small example of the difference coming from Windows Phone. WP feels very curated; I had less options but everything worked smoothly. Android (and this phone) feel like a muscle car. Add whatever you want, how ever you want.

herene

The Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 is well loved at the price range, though the phone bands are not really international.

http://batman-news.com Paul

I know the article is a complete waste of time and considering they claim to be long term Android users it is bizarre. I have been an Android user for the last four years and the S6 is a complete lemon. Be interesting to see if it out sells the S5?
The strange thing is you can get an Otterbox case for the S6, the only reason I did not get one for my S4 was they took so long to bring it out.
I would sit on your hands over Windows, the 640 XL is a massive disappointment it has almost no memory however they must have Windows 10 phones coming so maybe they will offer something worth buying.
I would look long and hard at the Sony Z3 Compact if you really need to change urgently.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

I think there is/was a deal on the Moto X recently. That, the Nexus 6 & unlocked Moto G are where you’ll probably find that price + unlocked combo.

Pau

Moto G isn’t available yet in my country. What phone do you recommend buying next to it? I could use some help.

jasonbourne23

Ugh for Samsung GS 6. I’m tired of Samsung bloatware that I will never use. Go to Google store and click on My Apps to see. Will be looking for another phone and even considering iPhone.

Craig Jacobs

Comprehensive. it’s a tl;dr. I want off-contract under $600, stock android, over 4.5″ and less than 6″, and not Samsung. Are there any phones that meet this criteria?

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Well your best bet sounds like the Nexus 6, but it’s a 6-inch screen. I’ll see what our expert can drum up! – EDIT: Our expert said the 2014 Moto X would suit you better!

Craig Jacobs

Yeah, that’s the conclusion I came to as well. The new ones should be out in a couple of months. The OnePlus 2 is also interesting to me. Thanks for the response!

http://batman-news.com Paul

Have a look at the Sony Z3 Compact, I am edging towards that. It seems to be the best Android phone at the moment. It has a 4.6 screen and is basically a Z3 so amazing piece of kit.

Craig Jacobs

Do those ship with stock Android ROMs? As in can I update the phone whenever Google rolls out an update? That’s my main issue, and also why I’m irritated that Google didn’t replace the Nexus 5 with an updated Nexus 5. The 6 is too damn big for my uses.

Jasper Edwards

LG G3

Jasper Edwards

“The LG G3 will be replaced by the G4 soon…”

This article was updated in June — the author should change this sentence. The LG G4 has been out for a while now.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Fixed!

Saidur

I want a flagship smartphone with removable battery and also get new android update..Price under 300$…At least Snapdragon 800 or up processor,Ram 2 Gb or up,Good Camera and a long lasting removable battery…which phone will b good for me ??

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

I don’t know that you’ll be able to find a flagship with what you’re asking for that low a price (without subsidy, trade-in, etc). And the Nexus, GS6 & Moto X all make battery removing difficult.

JAH

Check out the Alcatel one touch idol 3

Pedro Pablo Aguilar

According to LG the covers are “made with vegetable-tanned, full-grain leather. Which according to the article you linked, is the highest grade.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Sending along!

JAH

Missing the Alcatel one touch idol 3

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

I don’t believe we’ve had a chance to look at it yet, but we’ll get there!

So, I can get a 6 month old HTC one m8 for 160 Pounds. Good idea? It’s unlocked and the cratches are merely cosmetic and in the back.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

The HTC One M8 is possibly the most appealing previous-generation phone this year because it’s very similar to the M9, but sells for under $500. You can get an unlocked version for use in the US for about $450 without a contract. The software is still very good, but it won’t see the same speedy updates as the M9. The M8 has a slightly nicer 1080p LCD than the M9, and it gets better battery life. The 4MP Duo Camera is gimmicky and low-res, but the new 20MP camera on the M9 isn’t great, either. In fact, AnandTech actually recommends the M8 over the M9.

Josh McNattin

Please, in your infinite wisdom, tell me why manufacturers for the most part don’t offer removable batteries and SD card memory? Good reasons, besides it doesn’t fit their designs.

http://thewirecutter.com/ tony kaye

Good question. Planned obsoleteness & $$$ had to be of some influence.

petejayhawk

It’s infuriating to me that nobody seems to make a higher-spec small (5.0 or less-inch) phone anymore. I love my 2013 Moto X but it’s long in the tooth at this point. All the smaller phones are in the “budget” bin. Who decided that the all high-end phones have to be comically oversized?

Ryan Whitwam writes about all areas of technology and science, but especially Android. His extensive musings on Android can be found at Android Police and Tested.com. He also contributes regularly to Geek.com, ExtremeTech, and more. When he's not writing about amazing things that actually exist, he writes science fiction.

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